December 22, 2014 — Benny Miller of the New Orleans-based Louisiana Seafood Exchange isn’t happy with BP’s recent decision to fight penalties for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster that crippled the region’s economically vital seafood industry.
“They’re crazy if they think they can get away without paying just because oil prices are down,” said the general manager of the seafood wholesaler, which is involved in litigation against the oil giant.
Less than two weeks after a south Louisiana commercial fishing ground was reopened more than four years after one of the largest offshore oil spills in history, British oil giant is asking the federal government to lower its civil penalty, citing the recent steep drop in global oil prices.
The news comes as BP is trying to find as many ways possible to reduce its lingering oil spill liability. The company has taken a pretax charge of $43 billion to cover all spill costs, according to its latest regulatory filing. The money includes covering a federal civil penalty of up to $18 billion based on the amount of oil spilled, money that would go to the federal government.
Read the full story from International Business Times