The maximum fine oil giant BP will be ordered to pay over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill will be several billions less than feared, a US court has ruled.
BP now faces a fine of up to $13.7 billion after a judge found that the size of the spill was smaller than the US government had claimed.
The FTSE 100 firm was facing a penalty of up to $17.6 billion if the government had been able to prove that the offshore spill, the worst in US history, saw 4.09 million barrels of oil gush into the sea.
Instead, the federal magistrate said the size of the leak was 3.19 million barrels.
The final penalties will be decided after the third and final phase of the company's non-jury trial, which begins next week in New Orleans.
BP, which has been downsizing since the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, has also come under pressure due to the global oil price slump.
It cut 300 jobs at its North Sea operations on Thursday, as it accelerated a major restructuring programme.
After reaching a peak of $115 last summer, the price of a barrel of oil is now hovering around $48.
Additional reporting by Reuters
