An ongoing charm offensive by BP chief executive Tony Hayward belies a known truth: federal law could limit the British energy giant's liability exposure to victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The April 20 explosion and fire occurred on an ultra-deepwater rig working approximately 41 miles offshore from Louisiana on Mississippi Canyon Block 252 (referred to as the Macondo prospect). The rig sank in waters approximately 5,000 feet deep in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, coming to rest on the sea floor approximately 1,500 feet northwest of the well center and away from any subsea pipelines, according to the rig's operator Transocean (RIG). However, remotely operated, submersible vehicles monitoring the site have identified three leaks, spewing about 5,000 barrels (or 210,000 gallons) of oil a day from the uncapped well.

The spill is disastrous to the locals in coastal towns. The fishing industry in Louisiana could be impacted to the tune of $2.5 billion, and Florida's tourism losses are expected to total around $3 billion, according to Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune.

Although BP accepts its role as "responsible party" for clean-up, two weeks into the spill the energy giant could be backing off from its initial commitment to "pay legitimate and objectively verifiable claims" resultant from the spill. BP executives note that the disaster, in which 11 workers died, wasn't directly BP's fault, as drilling contractor Transocean was operating the rig on its behalf. Additionally, Houston-basedAnadarko (APC) holds a 25 percent working interest in the Macondo prospect.

Nice try. Under U.S. law, BP is ultimately responsible for most of the costs, as it owns the drilling license -- unless BP proves Transocean to be the "responsible party."

Source: BNET

Kevin Eason is a freelance editorial cartoonist and Illustrator from New Jersey . His brand of satire covers news events in politics, entertainment, sports and much more. Learn more about the artist at www.kevineasoncartoons.com