BP will pay 'many billions of dollars in fines' for oil spill, White House warns

Monday 7 June 2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/07/bp-oil-spill-fines-government

The White House has told BP they have to pay ´many billions of dollars´ in fines for the oil spill disaster since the explosion. The amount for those penalties will be determined by the quantity of oil polluting the Gulf: US law allows fines of $4,300 per barrel of oil.
Up till yesterday BP has paid $1.25bn (£870m) to clean-up costs and compensations to businesses and hotels put out of work because of the spill. The increase in the costs surpasses extremely the administrations and BP’s worst case scenario for an oil spill.
Barack Obama said "What is clear is that the economic impact of this disaster is going to be substantial and it is going to be ongoing."


I think that BP is responsible for the clean-up costs of the damages done. But the US government should show tolerance and not pressure for some payments to be made immediately. For we are talking about billions. And I think that the emphasis should be on stopping the oil spill permanently and the environmental sanitation, instead of possible future fines. BP and the US government should work shoulder to shoulder and combine forces and knowledge to resolve this catastrophe done to 'our earth'.