BP Lied To Feds, Withheld Actual Size Of Gulf Spill, Lawyers Claim

BP Lied To Feds, Withheld Actual Size Of Gulf Spill, Lawyers Claim:
by Michael Kunzelman

"NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- BP lied to the U.S. government and withheld information about the amount of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico after its well blew out in 2010, attorneys told a judge Monday.
But lawyers for the London-based oil giant denied those accusations and said there was no way to prepare for such a unique blowout a mile below the sea floor. Second-guessing the company's efforts to cap the well was "Monday morning quarterbacking at its worst," BP attorney Mike Brock said during opening statements of the second phase of a trial over the worst offshore oil spill ever in the U.S.
This part focuses on BP's response to the disaster and is designed help U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier determine much oil spewed into the Gulf.
The government's estimate is some 70 million gallons more than what BP says spilled. Establishing how much oil leaked into the Gulf during the 86-day struggle to cap the well will help figure out the penalties the oil company must pay. Billions of dollars are at stake.
The first phase of the trial centered on what caused the blowout."

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