14 DAY TRIAL // In 2010, the Gulf of Mexico experienced its absolute worst environmental disaster ever. In a nutshell, BP's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank. For several weeks following this incident, oil kept leaking into nearby waters.
It is estimated that, all in all, 200 million gallons (750 million liters) of oil worked their way in the Gulf of Mexico, killing animals and destroying precious natural habitats.
It's been 4 years since this disaster, but authorities and law enforcement officers still aren't done smacking oil and gas giant BP over the head for having caused this much damage to the environment.
In fact, it was this past September 4 that a federal judge in the US ruled that, according to evidence presented in court, BP proved “grossly negligent” in terms of securing the Deepwater Horizon rig and preventing the explosion.
According to Business Green, the judge assigned 67% of the blame for the 2010 oil spill to BP. Subcontractors Transocean and Halliburton were also held accountable, and assigned 30% and 3% of the blame, respectively.
Word has it that, following this ruling, BP is liable to fines amounting to an impressive $18 billion (about €13.7 billion). Whether or not these fines will actually be enforced remains to be seen.
Not at all surprisingly, the company does not agree with what the judge said in court. On the contrary, it thinks that, although disastrous and caused by one of its rigs, the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was not due to its negligence.
“The law is clear that proving gross negligence is a very high bar that was not met in this case. BP believes that an impartial view of the record does not support the erroneous conclusion reached by the District Court,” it said in a statement.