I think not. Negotiations amongst business firms and/or governments will only end up in the courts, so this seems like good public policy (US to demand BP fund):
The Obama administration, facing growing public anger over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, plans to ask BP PLC to establish an independently administered fund for reimbursing victims—in effect, taking some of the compensation decisions out of the company's hands. ...
White House officials on Sunday said they wanted BP to put "substantial" funds into an escrow account to cover claims by Gulf Coast businesses and residents affected by the spill. ...
The call was echoed by congressional leaders and state officials. In a June 10 letter to BP released on Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) and other Democrats asked BP to establish a $20 billion account, administered by an independent trustee, that would be used to pay the damages and clean-up costs associated with the spill. ...
Such a fund would provide a measure of security, proponents argue, for people concerned BP might file for bankruptcy protection or otherwise stop paying claims at some point in the future. It also has the potential to give the government or its designees control of distributing a significant pool of relief money. ...While not opposed to the idea of the fund, BP objects to the implication that if it isn't required to set money aside, it might try to avoid paying it in full, according to a person familiar with the company's position. BP insists it has the financial muscle to settle the final bill for the clean-up, as well as pay its dividend.
BP's hurt feelings aside, how about an ex-ante fund increasing in magnitude for each offshore well across the industry? If the total amount needed is $20 billion and there are about 4000 wells in the Gulf of Mexico, then each well would require a $5 million contribution. The fee for new deepwater wells could be set at $75 million.
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