BP Challenges US on Amount of Oil Spilled in Gulf of Mexico

British oil giant BP (NYSE:BP) is challenging the US government over the amount of oil that spewed from its blown-out Macondo well in a massive three-month spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The issue is directly connected to the amount of federal pollution fees BP will be required to pay.

Staff working for the presidential commission on the Gulf oil spill told The Associated Press that the oil giant alleges the government overestimated by as much as 50% the amount of oil spilled.

If BP’s argument proves successful, its fines under the Clean Water Act could be reduced by as much as $2.7 billion, according to the report.

The government has estimated that some 2.6 million gallons of oil a day leaked from the well, however the number gradually diminished per day to about 2.2 million before it was capped in mid-July.