HOUSTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - It may be months before a finalverdict is issued on the size of the fine BP Plc will payunder the Clean Water Act for its 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill,lawyers said on Tuesday after the last phase of the trial ended.
U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans,Louisiana, is scheduled to receive post-trial briefs fromgovernment prosecutors and BP through April 24.
Barbier might rule before then although a decision after allbriefs are filed is more likely, the lawyers said.
In arguments that wrapped up on Monday, BP tried to whittleaway at $13.7 billion in potential fines if faces under theClean Water Act for the worst offshore disaster in U.S. history.
BP has said its fine should be modest as it took extensivesteps to mitigate the disaster and that the defendant named inthe case, BP's exploration and production unit, known as BPXP,cannot afford a big penalty.
BP also said a drop of more than 50 percent in oil pricessince June has slashed BPXP's value.
The government urged a fine at or near the maximum.
Clean Water Act rules say when assigning penalties the courtmust look at BP's ability to pay, steps it took to clean up thespill, and its history of past violations, among other factors.
The Clean Water Act penalties would come on top of more than$42 billion the oil major has set aside for cleanup,compensation and fines. About 810,000 barrels were collectedduring cleanup.
Several billion dollars in potential fines were avoided inJanuary when Barbier put the size of the spill at 3.19 millionbarrels. That was well below the government's estimate of 4.09million barrels, which could have led to $17.6 billion in fines.
All three phases of the trial, over the degree ofnegligence, the size of the spill, and the size of the fine,have now concluded.
Under a "gross negligence" ruling Barbier issued inSeptember, BP could be fined a statutory limit of $4,300 foreach barrel spilled, though he has authority to set lowerpenalties.
BP has also filed motions saying the maximum fine per barrelis in fact just $3,000 because Congress never passed laws toadjust it for inflation.
A simple "negligence" ruling, which BP sought, caps themaximum fine at $1,100 per barrel. (Reporting By Terry Wade; Editing by Grant McCool)
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