Exactly one year after the worst oil spill in history, BP is back in the political game. The Hill reports that the oil company is now making big political donations. All but one of the recipients is Republican.
It marks a massive turnaround and change of heart by congressmen. Members of Congress haven't accepted contributions from BP since early April of last year when the BP well exploded, spilling nearly five million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
BP is peddling influence again in Washington for a very good reason. It's facing massive penalties, including possible criminal charges. And while BP has budgeted for costs of about $41 billion to clean up the mess, experts predict it could cost the company more than $60 billion. So the political donations are an investment to save costs.
Bloomberg reports that Halliburton and Cameron International, two companies which provided cement work and equipment involved in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, are unlikely to pay any fines. And the reason for that is that 12 months on, authorities still haven't determined and apportioned blame or imposed legal and financial penalties.
And that explains why BP is now throwing money around again.
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