BP...may face as much as $17.6 billion in civil pollution fines and possibly billions of dollars more in criminal penalties as its settlement with businesses and individuals harmed by the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill shifts the focus to government claims...BP said March 2 it would pay an estimated $7.8 billion to resolve private plaintiffs’ claims for economic loss, property damage and injuries. The settlement, to be paid from a $20 billion trust for spill victims set up in 2010, doesn’t resolve federal and state government environmental damage claims. BP has set aside $37 billion to cover spill costs...U.S. officials are open to the possibility of “a fair and just settlement,” Wyn Hornbuckle, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said...[T]he government is “fully prepared” to try environmental claims over the spill to “hold the responsible parties accountable for the damage suffered in the Gulf region,” Hornbuckle said...[also refers to Transocean, Halliburton]