Just 3 miles from the catastrophic BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a Louisiana company is seeking to unlock the same oil and natural gas that turned into a deadly disaster.

A federal judge has rejected an attempt by BP to lower the fines it faces from its catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.

Lawyers for the government and oil giant BP are preparing for trial in New Orleans that could add more than $13 billion in penalties to the billions BP already has shelled out as a result of 2010 Gulf oil spill.

BP Plc has accepted a $4 billion payment from partner Anadarko Petroleum towards the Gulf of Mexico oil spill clean-up, far less than it might have won in court, but a deal that could reduce the overall cost of the disaster for the British group.