BIG BP payout settlement of $18.7

BP to Pay $18.7 Billion to Settle Deepwater Horizon Spill Claims http://www.wsj.com/articles/bp-agrees-to-pay-18-7-billion-to-settle-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-claims-1435842739
Put a huge amount of the BP litigation behind it.
This would be the same as all the profits that the company has made since 2012. However the payment schedule is 1.1 million dollars per year.
Yes, BP was pretty irresponsible back then. But it still makes one wonder what if it were not such a big company that can afford to make all of the payments and restitution? If this has been done by a small company, or a non-multinational company, then the whole cost of the oil spill would have gone to governments and individuals.
So, feel free to hate BP, but it could have been a lot worse on the pain and recovery side.