BP is happy to hand over 20 billion when the loss will be in the trillions.
Exactly! What did Obama give away in order to get this major "Win" from BP?
Two things, probably, that are not being publicized:
1. The Clean Water Act penalties are $4,000 per barrel released, potentially $1 billion per week. I bet Obama and Team agreed to snag all the excess from the $20 billion as the upper cap on this penalty.
2. Other damages could be tens of billions and could drag on for years. In exchange for the high-profile $20 billion in blood money, I bet that BP got, in writing (kept secret for now) that the US Government will apply the $75 million cap law to shield BP from any lawsuits and to force everyone to go through the government fund.
Especially since BP is only putting $2-3 billion a quarter into the fund, this isn't a bad strategy for them now that the well is going to be capped in 3-4 weeks.
I've lived on the Gulf on and off for 20 years. I'm not happy with BP and their wormy incompetence in this blowout. But the Gulf will survive.