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BP Seeks Judge's Ruling on Size of Gulf Oil Spill
NEW ORLEANS January 12, 2013 (AP)
BP urged a federal judge Friday to rule the company can't be penalized for millions of gallons of oil that spewed from its blown-out well but was captured before it could spill into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
A court filing by London-based BP PLC says workers captured more than 34 million gallons — 810,000 barrels — of crude and either burned it or shipped it to shore before it could enter the Gulf waters.
The company asked U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to rule that the collected oil can't be counted in calculating the company's Clean Water Act penalties, which could amount to billions of dollars.
A criminal settlement with the Justice Department in November didn't resolve the government's civil claims against BP.
In Friday's filing, BP lawyers also vowed to prove at trial that the federal government overestimated the size of the spill.