Final phase of BP oil spill trial set for 2015 in China

A U.S. federal judge announced Friday that British oil giant BP will face the last phase of its trial over the 2010 Gulf oil spill next year, which will conclude the prolonged lawsuit and determine how much in fines BP will pay, U.S. media reported. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier and attorneys for BP and the federal government agreed Friday in a court in the city of New Orleans to a Jan. 20, 2015 start date for the third and final phase of the civil trial, the Times-Picayune reported. The sprawling lawsuit has been ongoing for nearly four years, but judges have not decided what fines BP should pay for the 2010 rig explosion, which killed 11 people and triggered a massive oil leak into the Gulf of Mexico. The trial's two previous phases dealt with causes of the disaster and the amount of oil that spewed into Gulf waters. Judges have not yet ruled on the amount spilled or on whether BP and others acted with gross negligence which led to the blowout. BP and its partners could face fines up to 1,100 U.S. dollars per barrel of oil released under the penalty. If the parties are found not just negligent, but grossly so, fines could max out at 4,300 U.S. dollars per barrel. Earlier this month, the U.S. federal government lifted a ban barring BP from securing new contracts in the U.S.. Several days later, the London-based company snatched two dozen bids with 41.6 million dollars at an offshore drilling auction run by the U.S. Interior Department.