BP sued by United States over Gulf oil spill disaster
The US government is to sue BP and several of its partners for costs and damages in a bid to recover billions of dollars after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.
Eight companies have been named in a lawsuit filed yesterday by the US Justice Department.
Barack Obama’s administration is calling on the firms to be held liable without limitation for all costs and damages caused by the spill under the Oil Pollution Act and Clean Water Act.
On 20 April, an explosion at BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers and caused millions of barrels of oil to spill into the Gulf over several months. It became the worst environmental disaster in US history.
Announcing the action, US Attorney General Eric Holder said: “We intend to prove that these defendants are responsible for government removal costs, economic losses, and environmental damages without limitation.
“Both our civil and criminal investigations continue, and our work to ensure that the American taxpayers are not forced to bear the costs of restoring the Gulf area and its economy is moving forward.”
The lawsuit is also calling for the companies – which include drilling rig operator Transocean and its insurer QBE Underwriting – to be held accountable under the Clean Water Act.
Accused
The full list of those named in the lawsuit includes BP, three subsidiaries of Transocean, two of oil and gas producer Anadarko, exploration firm MOEX Offshore, Triton Asset Leasing.
For in-depth analysis of the BP oil spill disaster visit the Channel 4 News Special Report
The US administration alleges that safety regulations were violated prior to the blast. It claims that the defendants failed to use the best available drill and neglected to adequately monitor conditions at the well.
The overall cost to BP for the clean-up operation so far is just shy of 40bn dollars (£25bn), but the civil action could see the total bill increased significantly.
The oil giant has also seen shares plummet and been forced to offload billions of dollars of assets to help pay compensation for the disaster.
Costs
If found liable for negligence under the Clean Waters Act, the defendants could be fined a maximum 4,300 US dollars per barrel of oil spilt. As an estimated 4.9 million barrels leaked into the Gulf, it could leave the firms facing a total bill of around 21bn dollars (£13.5bn).
The Oil Pollution Act allows for the claimant to sue for the total cost of damages to the natural resources in the area and the overall clean-up bill.
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The companies are also accused of safety failings relating to the protection of personnel, equipment, natural resources and the environment.
The massive oil spill killed large populations of wildlife, polluted waters and shattered fishing communities along the coasts of Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.
BP permanently plugged the well in September, although it had stopped oil flowing from the leaking well in mid-July.