BP pays record environmental fine of 18.7 billion for oil spill in 2010
The accident started when oil was leaking along the borehole to the surface, causing an explosion.
The British oil company BP has to return $ 18.7 billion for the Gulf oil spill.
This is the highest amount ever paid as claim by a company in the United States.
The 2010 disaster at BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig caused devastating pollution in the Gulf of Mexico.
“This is a realistic solution that provides certainty and clarity to all parties. Now, for BP, the main claims of this tragic accident have been handled.” says director Bob Dudley of BP in a statement.
18 years
The 18.7 billion will be paid over a period of eighteen years and reaches the states of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas and in approximately 400 local authorities which have joined the claim.
According to a calculation made by The Wall Street Journal, BP has already paid more than $ 40 billion to victims as compensation for cleaning. That brings the total damage at nearly $ 60 billion!
Disaster
Because of the oil disaster April 20, 2010
- eleven workers were killed
- local fishermen were severely misled
- thousands of people lost their homes
It is the largest oil spill in US history.
Explosion
The accident started when oil was leaking along the borehole to the surface, causing an explosion. The platform sunk and because of that, a drill rod broke. The result: another 800 million gallons of crude oil ended up in the sea.
The oil pollution was a disaster for the Gulf of Mexico and it’s vulnerable coastal areas, swamps and man-coarse.
BP to blame
During the days before the disaster, the company took a series of bad technical decisions. For example,
- a too weak cement cover plate has been placed on top of the borehole
- the steel casing of the oil well, was placed on an unstable part of the seabed
What if this kind of disaster happens with Shell near the coast of Alaska?
Related
- Shell is going to drill in the Arctic
- Shell will get a green light for drilling in Alaska
- Shell will pay for cleaning up polluted Niger Delta
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