Judge denies BP request to cap fine for 2010 oil spill

A federal judge rejected BP’s request to limit its liabilities for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill on Thursday. 

The Houston Chronicle reports U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier blocked BP’s call to have its oil spill liabilities no greater than $4,300 per barrel maximum, and officially set at $3,000. 

{mosads}Barbier said he has not determined the final amount of the civil penalty that BP will be responsible for paying as a result of the Deepwater Horizon spill, but it could run as high as $13.7 billion.

“We disagree with the court’s decision, and continue to believe that neither the EPA nor the Coast Guard have the power to independently inflate the maximum penalty as Congress intended,” BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said.