BP pays largest environmental fine for Gulf oil spill, but offshore drilling continues

WASHINGTON, D.C. – BP has agreed to pay a $18 billion (USD) in fines, to settle its role in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Spread out over 18 years, the record fine will be distributed among Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas for environmental cleanup projects related to the spill.

Friends of the Earth Oceans and Vessels Program Director Marcie Keever had this to say:

BP’s “gross negligence” has irreparably altered the lives and livelihood of thousands of Americans but today’s settlement resolves BP of liability for a mere 18 months of its profits. This settlement will not undo the devastating impacts of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, especially the loss of 11 lives in the rig explosion, or make the Gulf whole.

No amount of BP spin can change the reality on the ground. The Gulf has not recovered and the impacts of this disaster will be with us for decades. Perhaps most disturbing is that oil dollars continue to keep our politicians from acknowledging the lesson from the Gulf spill: the only safe place for fossil fuels is in the ground. For this reason, President Obama’s continued push to allow Shell to drill in the Arctic Ocean is particularly disturbing.

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Expert contact: Marcie Keever, (510) 900-3144, [email protected]
Communications contact: EA Dyson, (202) 222-0730, [email protected]