As the fallout from the Gulf oil crisis widens, spotlight falls on alternative ...
14.06.10
BP is one of the largest and most eminent companies in the world. It could pay $20 billion or more and still be extremely strong.
In fact, the value of its extraction has declined by far more than that since the catastrophe began.
But thousands of lawsuits will be brought in the Gulf States from people who’ve disoriented their livelihoods or property.
There’s not yet an accurate way of calculating the damages, but the potential risk is huge. That’s why the potency of a BP bankruptcy has already been floated.
Consider the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska . In 1994, a jury returned a judgment of $5 billion against Exxon . The appeals dragged on until 2008, when the Utmost Court reduced the judgment to $508 million. But this is a much bigger spill and the Gulf Coastline is far more populated than Alaska, so this should be a larger and much more complex case.
Politically, everyone is clamoring for BP’s scalp. However, if there’s no limit on liabilities, the contact on our economy could be significant. Without a cap, offshore drilling may become too risky for companies to continue.
Source: New York Daily News