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[slit]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/02/us-bp-gulfmexico-settlement-idUSKCN0PC1BW20150702

BP Plc will pay up to $18.7 billion in penalties to the U.S. government and five states to resolve nearly all claims from its deadly Gulf of Mexico oil spill five years ago in the largest corporate settlement in U.S. history.

The agreement adds to the $43.8 billion that BP had previously set aside for criminal and civil penalties and cleanup costs. The company said its total pre-tax charge for the spill now stands at $53.8 billion.

Searched and couldn't find anything.

I guess this is something. BP will have to pay out more than any company in history for Deepwater Horizon disaster. The downside is they have 18 years to do it. Although some are saying this might weaken BP to the point of a major takeover.

Slimy, greedy company.

 

[terrisus]

Since neither the title nor the OP said it:
$18.7 billion, due to 2010 oil spill.

Are we really making clickbait out of Reuters articles?...
EDIT: Alright, OP edited it in now.

 

[slit]

Since neither the title nor the OP said it:
$18.7 billion, due to 2010 oil spill.

Are we really making clickbait out of Reuters articles?...

What in the world are you going on about?

 

[Huevos de Oro]

I only want that 0.7 billion.

 

[AstroNut325]

Fantastic.

But BP will find some way to get that sum of money from the consumers.

Also wish we went after Wall Street bankers like this after the crash of 2008.

 

[RumblingRosco]

BP essentially shut down their biofuels research (the Energy Biosciences Institute) in part because of the costs associated with this. A 10-year, $500 million research program cut short by a few years when the program was expected to actually be extended before all these court proceedings played out.

I'll add, a ton of jobs were cut as well and a lot of graduate students, post docs, and professors were adversely affected by this. This penalty doesn't exist in a vacuum and a ton of people are going to be hurt by this. I'm not disagreeing with this ruling even, just saying that it has a downside too.

 

[slit]

BP essentially shut down their biofuels research (the Energy Biosciences Institute) in part because of the costs associated with this. A 10-year, $500 million research program cut short by a few years when the program was expected to actually be extended before all these court proceedings played out.

I'll add, a ton of jobs were cut as well and a lot of graduate students, post docs, and professors were adversely affected by this. This penalty doesn't exist in a vacuum and a ton of people are going to be hurt by this. I'm not disagreeing with this ruling even, just saying that it has a downside too.

I do agree there is a downside but the company brought this on themselves.

Someone has to pay for the damage they cost and if not them then who? No matter what someone is getting hurt.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

BP essentially shut down their biofuels research (the Energy Biosciences Institute) in part because of the costs associated with this. A 10-year, $500 million research program cut short by a few years when the program was expected to actually be extended before all these court proceedings played out.

I'll add, a ton of jobs were cut as well and a lot of graduate students, post docs, and professors were adversely affected by this. This penalty doesn't exist in a vacuum and a ton of people are going to be hurt by this. I'm not disagreeing with this ruling even, just saying that it has a downside too.

Well BP almost destroyed the gulf coast.

 

[Ether_Snake]

BP essentially shut down their biofuels research (the Energy Biosciences Institute) in part because of the costs associated with this. A 10-year, $500 million research program cut short by a few years when the program was expected to actually be extended before all these court proceedings played out.

I'll add, a ton of jobs were cut as well and a lot of graduate students, post docs, and professors were adversely affected by this. This penalty doesn't exist in a vacuum and a ton of people are going to be hurt by this. I'm not disagreeing with this ruling even, just saying that it has a downside too.

In an ideal world, they would have just seized the company and nationalized it.

 

[friday]

BP essentially shut down their biofuels research (the Energy Biosciences Institute) in part because of the costs associated with this. A 10-year, $500 million research program cut short by a few years when the program was expected to actually be extended before all these court proceedings played out.

I'll add, a ton of jobs were cut as well and a lot of graduate students, post docs, and professors were adversely affected by this. This penalty doesn't exist in a vacuum and a ton of people are going to be hurt by this. I'm not disagreeing with this ruling even, just saying that it has a downside too.

Sure...but they destroyed lives and livelihoods. They can't just get off man. Should they not be held responsible for the billions of dollars of damage they did? It's not the fines fault these programs got shut down, its BP's fault.

 

[ElectricThunder]

Yep, BP got off relatively easy if all they have to do is split some billions over more than a decade---and even that's generously presuming there aren't any "circumstances" that manifest over the ensuing years to shave or hack chunks away from it. Absorbing and sloshing about funds while leveraging their highly suspect influences in pursuit of their interests while damning the consequences is their bread and butter same as all the big entities in the fossil fuel industry---getting seized and nationalized would've been a fine message to send if only such a potent anti-corp action were a thing.

Plenty of people will never forget what they've wrought despite their PR campaigns during and after the fact alongside their enablers in the media and political world---same as TEPCO's damnable wanton bungling and willful idiocy.

 

[wenis]

Fuck em. Shoulda bled them dry. There is no amount of money that could fix the damage they've done.

 

[Dice//]

I only want that 0.7 billion.

I've become so "humble" I even wish for a $10,000 lottery win. Just-fucking-something-amounts.

And good. PAY UP BP.

 

[Renekton]

I applied for IT job there not long ago.

When a company like that cuts cost, IT is one of the first to go.

 

[Prinz Eugn]

BP essentially shut down their biofuels research (the Energy Biosciences Institute) in part because of the costs associated with this. A 10-year, $500 million research program cut short by a few years when the program was expected to actually be extended before all these court proceedings played out.

I'll add, a ton of jobs were cut as well and a lot of graduate students, post docs, and professors were adversely affected by this. This penalty doesn't exist in a vacuum and a ton of people are going to be hurt by this. I'm not disagreeing with this ruling even, just saying that it has a downside too.

Well, it sucks, but whether they knew it or not they did hitch their buggy to the asshole express. It's not like the fine is going to be cashed and incinerated, either.

 

[entremet]

BP essentially shut down their biofuels research (the Energy Biosciences Institute) in part because of the costs associated with this. A 10-year, $500 million research program cut short by a few years when the program was expected to actually be extended before all these court proceedings played out.

I'll add, a ton of jobs were cut as well and a lot of graduate students, post docs, and professors were adversely affected by this. This penalty doesn't exist in a vacuum and a ton of people are going to be hurt by this. I'm not disagreeing with this ruling even, just saying that it has a downside too.

They'll be back. They're an oil company.

 

[Earthstrike]

BP essentially shut down their biofuels research (the Energy Biosciences Institute) in part because of the costs associated with this. A 10-year, $500 million research program cut short by a few years when the program was expected to actually be extended before all these court proceedings played out.

I'll add, a ton of jobs were cut as well and a lot of graduate students, post docs, and professors were adversely affected by this. This penalty doesn't exist in a vacuum and a ton of people are going to be hurt by this. I'm not disagreeing with this ruling even, just saying that it has a downside too.

Yeah, but they destroyed entire local economies.

 

[Suikoguy]

BP essentially shut down their biofuels research (the Energy Biosciences Institute) in part because of the costs associated with this. A 10-year, $500 million research program cut short by a few years when the program was expected to actually be extended before all these court proceedings played out.

I'll add, a ton of jobs were cut as well and a lot of graduate students, post docs, and professors were adversely affected by this. This penalty doesn't exist in a vacuum and a ton of people are going to be hurt by this. I'm not disagreeing with this ruling even, just saying that it has a downside too.

They should be fined more then, since a quick Wikipedia search shows:

Operating income US$ 6.412 billion[2] (2014)
Profit US$ 4.003 billion[2] (2014)

They cut these things purely because they were making LESS billions.
They should go fuck themselves even more now.

 

[Chichikov]

BP essentially shut down their biofuels research (the Energy Biosciences Institute) in part because of the costs associated with this. A 10-year, $500 million research program cut short by a few years when the program was expected to actually be extended before all these court proceedings played out.

I'll add, a ton of jobs were cut as well and a lot of graduate students, post docs, and professors were adversely affected by this. This penalty doesn't exist in a vacuum and a ton of people are going to be hurt by this. I'm not disagreeing with this ruling even, just saying that it has a downside too.

BP made 2.6 billion dollars in Q1.
EBI is 500 million over 10 years. They can easily afford that if they wanted to.

The idea that we shouldn't fine them misbehaving corporations so they can benevolently create jobs for us is repugnant to me.
Someone need to pay for that cleanup (which by the cost more jobs than BP reducing their support for EBIT) and if it's not BP, it's going to be the taxpayers, and fuck that shit.

 

[acrid]

 

[RiccochetJ]

I do agree there is a downside but the company brought this on themselves.

Someone has to pay for the damage they cost and if not them then who? No matter what someone is getting hurt.

I'm just wondering why you think that them paying 1 billion dollars a year over 18 years is some sort of leniency. I feel like you have absolutely no concept of what 1 billion dollars is.

 

[MC Safety]

BP essentially shut down their biofuels research (the Energy Biosciences Institute) in part because of the costs associated with this. A 10-year, $500 million research program cut short by a few years when the program was expected to actually be extended before all these court proceedings played out.

I'll add, a ton of jobs were cut as well and a lot of graduate students, post docs, and professors were adversely affected by this. This penalty doesn't exist in a vacuum and a ton of people are going to be hurt by this. I'm not disagreeing with this ruling even, just saying that it has a downside too.

Well, instead of grad students and professors, now we can hire environmental engineers, cleanup crews, EPA agents, and people to man the nature conservatories we should donate an excess of the penalty money to. Oh, and we can give some of that restitution to the people who lost their jobs because of BP's malfeasance in the first place.

Whatever BP is paying, it's not enough.

 

[slit]

I'm just wondering why you think that them paying 1 billion dollars a year over 18 years is some sort of leniency. I feel like you have absolutely no concept of what 1 billion dollars is.

I feel like you have no concept of what 1 billion dollars means to BP. Does it hurt them? Yes, but make no mistake they're not going broke, in fact their stock rose on this news.

One billion sure sounds like a lot, right? To them, not so much.

 

[Toxi]

I'm just wondering why you think that them paying 1 billion dollars a year over 18 years is some sort of leniency. I feel like you have absolutely no concept of what 1 billion dollars is.

LOL, BP wipes their ass with a billion dollars.

 

[RiccochetJ]

I feel like you have no concept of what 1 billion dollars means to BP. Does it hurt them? Yes, but make no mistake they're not going broke, in fact their stock rose on this news.

One billion sure sounds like a lot, right? To them, not so much.

I now know that you have no concept of what 1 billion dollars means.

LOL, BP wipes their ass with a billion dollars.

You too.

 

[slit]

I now know that you have no concept of what 1 billion dollars means.

I now know you're completely naive.

 

[dekline]

Almost two decades to pay that off. They got it easy.

 

[RiccochetJ]

I now know you're completely naive.

Haha! Oh my god, I think you're being serious right now. Holy shit.

 

[Suikoguy]

Haha! Oh my god, I think you're being serious right now. Holy shit.

You do understand that money in this day and age is relative right?
For a company that brings in BILLIONS in net profit each year, it's not exactly a company breaking amount.

 

[cajunator]

BP sucks. Almost fucked up Grand Isle.
shrimping seems to have rebounded in most places.

 

[BlackGhost]

Shit, im actually doing a project on the BP oil spill.

 

[AJLma]

$53 Billion is a lot of money to anybody.

 

[RiccochetJ]

You do understand that money in this day and age is relative right?
For a company that brings in BILLIONS in net profit each year, it's not exactly a company breaking amount.

It's going to affect how they hire and how they pay their current employees with their upcoming budget. Unless things change, they will be beholden to their shareholders. 1 billion immediately out of their pocket will affect things. You're a fool if you believe otherwise.

Shit, im actually doing a project on the BP oil spill.

Do your due diligence. Find the places where the equipment fucked up and where the employees fucked up. There's a lot of misconception around here when it comes to the oil industry.

Full disclosure, I work in the industry. Specifically in the area where these companies pay us a lot of money to try and predict where failures will occur. Unfortunately, third party actions are something of a bother.

Spoiler: You know where the majority of the failures come from? People not calling firstcall and having someone come out and marking where lines are. Somehow people just think that internet, heat, water, etc. just magically appear in their house and they won't affect anyone when they decide to dig deep with their toy they rented from Home Depot.

 

[Lesath]

Out of curiosity, and I'm sure someone more informed than me would be able to answer, how does this fine measure up to the extent of the ecological and economic impact the spill has caused?

 

[Suikoguy]

It's going to affect how they hire and how they pay their current employees with their upcoming budget. Unless things change, they will be beholden to their shareholders. 1 billion immediately out of their pocket will affect things. You're a fool if you believe otherwise.

Oh it will to an extent, but fuck shareholders if they don't understand that the company they bought stock in fucked up.

 

[ezrarh]

Hopefully this will make other oil companies spend a little more of the billions they have for even more preventative safety measures.

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

Good. Well deserved. Shit, I'm not sure why they whole business wasn't forced to give their entire life savings. They destroyed communities, wildlife, the earth and really tried to get by with a sorry message. Fuck them... I will never buy anything from Bp

 

[RiccochetJ]

Oh it will to an extent, but fuck shareholders if they don't understand that the company they bought stock in fucked up.

I suppose this is your loss of innocence.

Hopefully this will make other oil companies spend a little more of the billions they have for even more preventative safety measures.

Oh they have them in place. Don't fool yourself. However there's a difference between the corporate line and the shift manager screaming at you about how easily you can be replaced.

 

[antonz]

You mean the American taxpayer who is already shelling out billions in subsidies to the Oil Industry is paying itself

 

[zashga]

Spoiler: You know where the majority of the failures come from? People not calling firstcall and having someone come out and marking where lines are. Somehow people just think that internet, heat, water, etc. just magically appear in their house and they won't affect anyone when they decide to dig deep with their toy they rented from Home Depot.

Even in aggregate over the past five years (ten years? twenty?), does this stuff remotely compare to the Deepwater Horizon spill, economically or ecologically? I kind of doubt it, but I've never seen the data.

 

[RiccochetJ]

Even in aggregate over the past five years (ten years? twenty?), does this stuff remotely compare to the Deepwater Horizon spill, economically or ecologically? I kind of doubt it, but I've never seen the data.

Take a look at the Plains oil spill in California. Look at the data.

Exxon Valdez was huge.

What BP is paying is massive.

 

[slit]

Do your due diligence. Find the places where the equipment fucked up and where the employees fucked up. There's a lot of misconception around here when it comes to the oil industry.

Full disclosure, I work in the industry. Specifically in the area where these companies pay us a lot of money to try and predict where failures will occur. Unfortunately, third party actions are something of a bother.

Spoiler: You know where the majority of the failures come from? People not calling firstcall and having someone come out and marking where lines are. Somehow people just think that internet, heat, water, etc. just magically appear in their house and they won't affect anyone when they decide to dig deep with their toy they rented from Home Depot.

Ahh, this explains a lot about your posts. lol

 

[Wilsongt]

So a drop in the bucket that can be easily recouped by cutting stack and renewable energy research? Got it.

 

[Savitar]

They'll find a way to get most of it marked off I'm sure over time.

Which is highly distressing.

They deserve to pay a lot and sooner than later.

 

[DBT85]

In an ideal world, they would have just seized the company and nationalized it.

They being who, exactly?

 

[gutter_trash]

the total amount BP shelled out thus far on their disaster would be enough to buy out Greece's debt

 

[ClosingADoor]

Good, they deserve it. What a mess that was.

 

[Raistlin]

My understanding is this is the largest fine of any kind, in any country.



The fine is greater than their last 4 years of profit. There is also talk this may weaken BP enough that a buyout could occur.

 

[AuthenticM]

The fine was approved by a federal judge

 

[DrDomVonDoom]

Where does this fine money go? IS the money going to relief the fishing industry, the thousands and thousands of people whose lively hood was adversely changed forever? I understand that the money will be split amongst states, but I am not confident it will go to the places it should. Yes there are costs to cover, but I feel like the people are at the bottom of this totem pole. I live in Alaska and have seen personally what the Exxon Valdez did for a lot of small fishing ventures out here, its not pretty.