David Vitter committee. In response to the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill at an offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico threatening the coast of Louisiana, Vitter introduced legislation along with Jeff Sessions of Alabama to increase the liability cap of an oil company from $75 million to its most recent annual profits (or $150 million if greater). In the case of BP, the owner of the oil lease, its liability would be $20 billion. Vitter later introduced an amendment that would remove the cap entirely for this particular spill. Competing Democratic proposals would have raised the liability to $10
Economic effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill the total liability could amount to as much as by the conclusion of the disaster. Financial analysts commented that BP was capable of addressing the potential liabilities that might result, and BP stock rose slightly on the news that the initial compensation fund had been agreed. On 5 July 2010, BP reported that its own expenditures on the oil spill had reached $3.12 billion, including the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to the Gulf states, claims paid, and federal costs. As of 1 October 2010, BP has spent $11.2 billion. As of March 2012, BP