英石油公司BP為漏油事件認罰187億美元
CAMPBELL ROBERTSON, RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA 2015年7月3日
Gerald Herbert/Associated Press
2010年4月，「深水地平線」石油鑽井平台在墨西哥灣發生爆炸泄漏事故。
美國新奧爾良——周四，美國聯邦、州政府官員和英國石油企業BP表示，墨西哥灣沿岸各州政府以及聯邦政府已與BP達成初步和解協議，後者將支付187億美元（約合1160億元人民幣)，以賠償2010年深水地平線(Deepwater Horizon)鑽井平台石油泄漏事故造成的損害。這將是美國歷史上數目最大的環境案件和解金額。
如果聯邦法官批准，該和解協議將可以了結2010年深水地平線鑽井平台爆炸引發的最大一樁長期未決的法律糾紛。當時的爆炸導致了11人死亡，數百萬加侖的石油流入墨西哥灣。
BP在美國的子公司「BP勘探與生產」(BP Exploration and Production)將因為破壞自然資源，向聯邦政府和路易斯安那州、阿拉巴馬州、密西西比州、德克薩斯州和佛羅里達州支付至少71億美元，而這一數額還可能進一步提高；因違反《清潔水法案》(Clean Water Act)，向聯邦政府支付55億美元的罰款；因為破壞沿岸各州經濟，向它們支付49億美元的賠償；最後，還要向400多個地方政府支付至多10億美元的賠償。
「這是一項里程碑式的和解協議，」阿拉巴馬州州長羅伯特·本特利(Robert Bentley)在蒙哥馬利召開的新聞發佈會上表示。「它的目的是彌補州里遭受的所有損害，不僅是環境損害，也包括經濟損失。」
該和解協議中最大的幾筆金額將在15至18年的時間裡支付，從協議獲得聯邦法院最終批准的一年之後開始。BP開出的和解金額為187億美元，幾個州給出的數字也相差不遠；司法部則表示，該和解協議的總金額有可能突破200億美元。
「如果獲得法院批准，這將成為美國歷史上最大的一單和解協議，」司法部長洛蕾塔·E·林奇(Loretta E. Lynch)在聲明中表示。「它將有助於修復墨西哥灣的經濟、漁業、濕地和野生動物遭受的損害，為海灣地區的數代人帶來長久利益。」
此前，BP已通過認罪協議同意為這起石油泄露事故支付40億美元的刑事罰款。公司還表示，為期三個月的遏制漏油的行動共耗資140億美元。當時，各大新聞頻道播放的影像顯示，石油在水下源源不斷地漏出，焦油污染了墨西哥灣沿岸的海灘。這樣的畫面讓很多美國人震驚。
公司表示，與這起漏油事故相關的費用總額將超過400億美元。
BP租賃的深水地平線鑽井平台距離路易斯安那州東南角不到50英里（約合80公里）。2010年4月20日，平台發生爆炸並起火，造成11名員工喪生，然後沉入海中。在洋底，原油持續從破裂處湧出，直到7月才被堵住。
在新奧爾良進行的為期兩年的民事案件審理過程中，司法部表示，根據《清潔水法案》，BP應當支付137億美元的聯邦最高罰款，相當於每桶油4300美元；而BP只願為民事罰款預留這筆金額的四分之一。
聯邦政府提起的這宗民事訴訟最後階段的作證已在今年2月結束，雙方在等待法院裁決。與此同時，和解談判也在持續進行。由各州提起的另外的訴訟定於明年開始審理。
為了和解這樁案子，BP董事會「進行了權衡，一邊是公司不得不捲入多年訴訟所涉及的重重風險、時間因素和後果，另一邊是公司得以明確未來的航向，」公司董事長思文凱(Carl-Henric Svanberg)在聲明中表示。
聯邦檢察官聲稱，BP理應受到最嚴厲的懲罰，因為這是美國歷史上最嚴重的近海石油泄漏事故，而巨額罰款將對各大石油公司起到威懾作用。
無論是在法庭上，還是在鋪天蓋地的電視廣播廣告中，BP都強調了公司為了減少對墨西哥灣海灘及野生動植物造成的長期環境損害而進行的種種清理工作。BP表示，超過23億美元的罰款會嚴重損害其美國子公司的財務狀況，特別是在當前油價低迷的時期。但負責該案的新奧爾良聯邦地區法院法官卡爾·J·巴比爾(Carl J. Barbier)表示，不管數額有多大，總有一天可以還完。
BP一直試圖將自己描繪為法律制度的某種受害者。在好幾年裡，公司堅稱，理賠管理人帕特里克·朱諾(Patrick Juneau)向與BP達成和解的企業和個人發放了過多的賠償金，其中還存在欺詐行為。但該公司在今年3月終止了通過法律途徑來將朱諾解職的行動。BP估計，公司將向原告賠償78億美元，但最終的總額估計會高得多。
BP不間斷地推動廣告宣傳攻勢，聲稱墨西哥灣環境的恢復速度比專家預測的要快。但環保人士認為，現在評判還為時過早，可能需要幾十年的時間和幾代的海洋生物來判定漏油事故造成的全部後果。這起事故導致逾1000英里長的海岸線及墨西哥灣海底的大片區域受到污染。
環保團體國際海洋保護組織(Oceana)表示，這份和解協議遠遠不夠，無論是從懲罰BP的角度來看，還是在修復墨西哥灣生態系統受到的損害方面。
「如果法院批准這一和解提議，BP將輕易脫身，而我們這些民眾卻不會因為遭受的自然資源損害而獲得充分的補償，」該組織副主席雅克利娜·薩維茨(Jacqueline Savitz)說。「187億美元可能聽起來是一大筆錢，確實也不少，但看看BP欠下的環境賬單，實在是相形見絀。」
全美奧杜邦學會(The National Audubon Society)則持比較謹慎樂觀的態度。
「造成了破壞就得賠償——問題就應該這樣解決，」奧杜邦學會會長兼執行主管戴維·亞諾德(David Yarnold)說。「現在可以認真開始墨西哥灣沿岸的修復工作了，也是時候彌合BP對墨西哥灣生態系統及沿岸社區造成的創傷了。」
與此同時，BP這座鑽井平台的合作方——休斯頓的阿納達科石油公司(Anadarko Petroleum)——聲稱，該公司不應該受到懲罰，因為他們沒有在該鑽井平台作業，不用為BP所犯的錯負責。阿納達科是在墨西哥灣作業的大型油企之一。政府表示，作為事發鑽井平台的共有人，阿納達科要與BP共同承擔道德責任。
官方警告，一些細節仍需進一步商榷，比如地方政府機構應該獲得的確切的賠償金額，以及付款時間。這份和解協議也並未終止其他個人和企業就漏油事故提起的訴訟。
BP to Pay $18.7 Billion for Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
CAMPBELL ROBERTSON and RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA July 3, 2015
NEW ORLEANS — The Gulf Coast states and the federal government have reached a tentative settlement with BP for the British oil company to pay $18.7 billion over 18 years, to compensate for damages from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, state officials said Thursday.
The settlement, if approved by a federal judge, could bring to a close the largest unresolved legal dispute arising from the April 2010 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which left 11 dead and spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
An American BP subsidiary, BP Exploration and Production, will pay at least $7.1 billion, and possibly more, to the federal government and the states of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Florida, for damage to natural resources; $5.5 billion in penalties to the federal government for violation of the Clean Water Act; $4.9 billion to the states to compensate for harm to their economies; and up to $1 billion to more than 400 local governments.
“This is a landmark settlement,” Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama said. “It is designed to compensate the state for all the damages, both environmental and economic.”
BP had already agreed to pay more than $4 billion in criminal fines in a plea agreement over the spill. The company had also reported spending $14 billion in a three-month effort to containthe spill, which left much of the American public spellbound, as news channels broadcast images of the oil escaping the underwater well hour after hour, and of tar fouling Gulf Coast beaches.
In all, the company said it will incur more than $40 billion in costs related to the spill.
The Deepwater Horizon rig, leased by BP and positioned less than 50 miles southeast of the tip of Louisiana, exploded and caught fire on April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers, and then sank. Oil continued to gush from the ruptured well on the seabed until it was capped in July.
Over the course of a two-year trial in New Orleans, the Justice Department had argued that under the Clean Water Act, BP should pay the maximum federal penalty of $13.7 billion, or $4,300 for every barrel of oil spilled, while BP had only set aside about a quarter of that amount for fines in the civil trial.
Testimony in the final phase of the federal government’s civil suit ended in February, and both sides had been awaiting a decision as settlement negotiations continued. The separate lawsuits filed by the states were scheduled to begin going to trial next year.
In deciding to settle the cases, BP’s board “has balanced the risks, timing and consequences associated with many years of litigation against its wish for the company to be able to set a clear course for the future,” Carl-Henric Svanberg, the company’s chairman, said in a statement.
Federal prosecutors had argued that BP deserved the most severe penalties because the spill was the most serious American offshore oil leak in history, and that a big fine would serve as a deterrent to oil companies.
In court and on television commercials that blanketed the airwaves, BP highlighted its cleanup efforts aimed at reducing the long-term environmental damage to Gulf beaches and wildlife. The company said any fine over $2.3 billion would seriously strain the finances of its American subsidiary, especially at a time of lower oil prices. However, Judge Carl J.Barbier of Federal District Court in New Orleans, who presided over the cases, suggested that any fines could be paid over time.
The company has consistently attempted to portray itself as something of a victim of the legal system. For years it argued that Patrick Juneau, the compensation administrator, was doling out excessive and fraudulent payments to businesses and individuals who settled for damages with the company. But in March the company halted its legal efforts to remove Mr. Juneau. BP had estimated that it would pay $7.8 billion to the plaintiffs, but the final total is expected to be considerably higher.
The company has continued to push an advertising campaign arguing that the Gulf environment has recovered faster than experts had expected. But environmentalists contend that it is far too early to judge, and that it could take decades, and several generations of sea life, to determine the full ramifications of a spill that soiled more than a thousand miles of shoreline and a large section of the Gulf seafloor.
An environmental group, Oceana, said the settlement fell far short of what was needed, both to penalize BP and to repair thedamage to the Gulf ecosystem.
“If the court approves this proposal, BP will be getting off easy and we the people will not be fully compensated for the natural resource damages that we suffered,” a vice president of Oceana,Jacqueline Savitz, said. . “$18.7 billion may sound like a lot of money, and it is, but it pales in comparison to what BP owes.”
The National Audubon Society struck a more cautiously positive tone.
“You break it, you pay for it — that’s how this is supposed to work,” said David Yarnold, president and chief executive of the group. “Now Gulf Coast restoration can begin in earnest. It’s time to heal the wounds that BP tore in Gulf Coast ecosystems and communities.”
A partner in the well, the Houston oil company AnadarkoPetroleum, meanwhile, argued that it deserved no penalty at all since it did not operate the well and could not be held responsible for mistakes that were made. The government said Anadarko, which remains a major operator in the Gulf, shared a moral responsibility as a part owner of the well.
Officials cautioned that some details remained to be worked out, including the exact amounts to be paid to local government agencies, and the timing of payments. The agreement also does not end some of the litigation brought by private individuals and businesses over the oil spill.
BP has agreed to pay $18.7 billion over 18 years to settle all federal and state claims arising from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, five years after the accident.
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