BP PLC, a multinational British oil and gas company, is set to face a series of fines, lawsuits and criminal charges after the explosion of one of their oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. This explosion led to the releasing of about 57,500 barrels of oil per day while the well was exposed.

BP has is facing lawsuits from from a multitude of governmental and non-governmental organizations including: The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The National Academy of Science, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. BP is also facing criminal charges and possible incarceration of one of it’s employees who oversaw BP‘s project in the gulf. He faces 5 years in jail as a result of lying, about how much oil was being expelled from the well, in congress.

As a result of this catastrophic event, BP is faced with $4.5 billion dollars of fines and a slap on the wrist. The company faces little deficit or real signs of struggle as in it’s last quarter alone reported profits of about $5.5 billion.

This is the reality of our current economy, we need petroleum and will pay extreme costs to get it. As a scarce and highly valuable resource countries will battle to control as much oil as possible. There needs to be more regulation and higher punishment for oil extracting and transporting companies to prevent and lower the risk of the destruction of vulnerable ecosystems.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/us-business/bp-to-plead-guilty-in-gulf-spill-pay-extra-45-billion/article5327648/