BP faces maximum US$13.7b fine after spill-size decision

Houston

BP plc faces a maximum fine of US$13.7 billion after a US judge ruled that the company dumped 3.2 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 - about a quarter less than the US had calculated.

The government's 4.2 million barrel estimate of the spill size was rejected by US District Judge Carl Barbier, decreasing the potential maximum fine from US$18 billion. BP estimated the flow at 2.45 million barrels. The maximum possible fine would still be the largest US pollution penalty.