Skip to main content
Tuesday, November 10, 2026Nov 10
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Billions in federal penalties at issue in BP spill trial

FILE - In this June 3, 2010, file photo, a bird is mired in oil on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast. Lawyers representing the federal government were in a New Orleans courtroom Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, outlining their case for adding some $13.7 billion in penalties to costs already incurred by BP after the 2010 Gulf oil spill. BP points to $42 billion in costs it already has incurred in arguing for a lower penalty. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
FILE - In this June 3, 2010, file photo, a bird is mired in oil on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast. Lawyers representing the federal government were in a New Orleans courtroom Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, outlining their case for adding some $13.7 billion in penalties to costs already incurred by BP after the 2010 Gulf oil spill. BP points to $42 billion in costs it already has incurred in arguing for a lower penalty. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) FILE - In this June 3, 2010, file photo, a bird is mired in oil on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast. Lawyers representing the federal government were in a New Orleans courtroom Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, outlining their case for adding some $13.7 billion in penalties to costs already incurred by BP after the 2010 Gulf oil spill. BP points to $42 billion in costs it already has incurred in arguing for a lower penalty. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

By Associated Press 3 min read

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Pictures of fouled beaches and oil-coated birds flashed on a courtroom screen Tuesday as the U.S. government began making its case that BP should pay an additional $13.7 billion in environmental penalties for the Deepwater Horizon explosion, which spilled millions of barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

Also on display were images of former BP CEO Tony Hayward, who drew widespread criticism for saying “I’d like my life back” even as the oil giant struggled to contain the spill.

“They continue to focus on their own hardships,” Justice Department Attorney Steven O’Rourke told U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who already ruled that BP acted with “gross negligence” in the disaster.

O’Rourke disputed BP’s arguments that any federal Clean Water Act penalties should be held to an unspecified minimum, since the company’s spill-related costs already total $42 billion, including $14 billion for cleanup, plus criminal penalties and economic settlements with affected businesses.

O’Rourke also said Anadarko, a minority partner in the Macondo well, should pay more than $1 billion in penalties. Anadarko attorneys argue that the corporation was a “non-operational” partner and should not be punished with a civil penalty.