[dennisw]

Hmmmm... I’m having a hard time figuring this one out. Should BP pays billions for this major disaster they caused or should the American taxpayers?

Obama has ways of getting BP to kick in billions into a damages fund, into escrow. I like that idea of BP paying rather than me and other taxpayers. Call me silly.

This still has to pan out out and we’ll know more in a few days. Maybe BP will agree to nothing as far as putting billions into an escrow fund

[opentalk]

It is the same pattern as GM, Chrysler bankruptcies. An authoritarian government response.

[Captain Peter Blood]

The cost of this disaster is at this time incalculable. My feeling is that no company including BP has enough cash to pay for this.
Now in the course of normal legal proceedings judgments can be handed to BP, assets attached, etc. for payment of damages.
Worst case for BP is to lose control of it's U.S. assets which can and would be sold for probably fire sale prices to pay out what that will cover.
Everything else in going to be on the Taxpayer.

[muawiyah]

This is a trivial question ~ the well is on leased land. The devices associated with the well, e.g. the drill pipes and so forth are fixtures that become the property of the landlord. The oil company receives the right to pump oil provided it pays its leasing feas and royalties on the oil.

There's nothing at all remarkable about this arrangement.

So, where does Obama get authority over the leaseholder? Well, I'd look no further than the leasing agreement ~ there's gotta' be some incredible boilerplate in there Fur Shur.

[VRWCmember]

Should BP pays billions for this major disaster they caused or should the American taxpayers?

Is there an existing process under the rule of law to facilitate payment by BP for its liabilities in this matter? I think the answer is yes. Does Obama have the authority to unilaterally decide and dictate a new process instead of following the existing process under the rule of law? I think the answer is HELL NO!