BP has squared up for a court battle against the US government over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, arguing that the penalties it is likely to face should be far below the $20 billion some estimates have suggested. With less than a week to go before the civil trial over the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, BP has indicated it does not expect to reach a civil settlement with the US department of justice and intends to fight in court to reduce its liability.

Rupert Bondy, BP’s general counsel, told the Financial Times that the penalty BP faces under the Clean Water Act could be well below $5 billion.

The company argues that factors including the causes of the accident, the oil captured by BP before it leaked into the gulf, and its efforts to clean up the oil afterwards would all work to limit penalties . – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2013