BP (BP), Anadarko (APC), Transocean (RIG), MOEX Expected to Pay $1 Million a Day for Violations

BP (NYSE:BP), Anadarko (NYSE:APC), Transocean (NYSE:RIG) and MOEX via subsidiary Mitsui (NASDAQ:MITSY), could end up having to pay $1,000,000 for each day they damaged the state of Louisiana.

"Each defendant is liable under La. R.S. 30:2025 for a civil penalty of not more than $32,500 for each day of violation ($50,000 for each day of violation of a compliance order issued by LDEQ), and for an additional penalty of not more than $1,000,000 for each day of violation," according to the complaint filed by the state.

They cited violations of the Louisiana Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act of 1991, the Oil Pollution Act, and the Louisiana Environmental Quality Act as the basis for their complaint and desired compensation.

Louisiana Attorney General James "Buddy" Caldwell alleges that before the Deepwater Horizon exploded, "warning signs of well flow were being transmitted to the rig, to Halliburton's Houston office and BP E&P's Houston office in real time for almost an hour before hydrocarbons reached the rig, alerting rig workers to shut down the well. Nevertheless, the rig workers apparently ignored these warning signs until it was too late. Moreover, during the critical hour before the well blowout, there was no one at the Halliburton or BP E&P offices to monitor this data and issue the appropriate warnings."

Louisiana estimates that 27,000 Louisianans' jobs were affected by the spill, with the shellfish industry being hit the hardest.