Settlement for rig explosion could reach into the tens of billions of dollars
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a lawsuit against BP and eight other companies over the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s not yet clear how much money is at stake in the suit, but the potential fines and penalties could reach into the tens of billions of dollars. To go along with its civil suit, Attorney General Eric Holder also said the department was “making progress” on its criminal investigation of the spill. The suit hinges on the government’s allegations companies working on the Deepwater Horizon rig violated federal regulations, including the failure to take necessary precautions in securing the rig before the explosion and the failure to use the safest drilling technology.