Though the effects of the Deep Water Horizon oil spill have been felt for the past two years, British Petroleum was just hit in October with a $4.5 billion fine by the U.S.government.
A small portion of this money goes to the Securities and Exchange Commission. They had previously brought suit against BP for lying to its investors about how much oil was lost. $2.4 billion dollars will go environmental agencies in the Gulf Coast area and $1.25 billion goes the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard operates the Oil Spill Liability Trust fund, which was established in 1990 under President Bush. According to their website, the fund gives “Payments to federal, state, and Indian tribe trustees to conduct natural resource damage assessments and restorations,” after a disaster.
“Oil refining is a complex process, especially out at sea,” said Jim Schultz, a junior mechanical Engineering major. “It’s your job, and when something goes wrong, you’re responsible.”
Though it is the biggest fine ever levied against a company, BP shouldn’t struggle to pay. They posted a net income of $26.1 billion in 2011, and have posted close to $10 billion in profits this year.
The news of the fine came out when BP plead guilty to 14 federal counts, which Attorney General Eric Holder announced on Nov. 15. It hasn’t hurt their stock price over the last couple weeks. Their stock was trading at $41.76 on Friday, a 3.6 percent increase since the fine was announced. The company has failed to get back to the pre-spill prices, when their stock was trading at $60.