Post by FWS on Nov 15, 2012 12:33:28 GMT -6
BP agrees $4.5bn settlement over Gulf spill
BP is to pay a $4bn (£2.5bn) criminal penalty - the largest in US history - and plead guilty to criminal misconduct in a deal with US authorities over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.
On April 20, an explosion ripped through the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and injuring 17 others
By Emily Gosden
Telegraph.uk
15 Nov 2012
The company announced on Thursday that it had struck a $4.5bn deal with the US Department of Justice to resolve all criminal claims over the disaster.
It will plead guilty to 11 criminal felony charges of misconduct or neglect of ships officers, relating to the deaths of 11 men in the 2010 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig.
It will also plead guilty to two criminal misdemeanour charges related to the effects of the spill, which was the worst offshore leak in US history, and one criminal felony charge over information provided to Congress about the spill rate.
BP will pay a further $525m to the US Securities and Exchange Commission over securities claims.
The settlement adds a further $3.85bn to BP's total bill for the disaster, for which it had so far budgeted $38.1bn.
It is yet to resolve a host of civil claims related to the disaster, including penalties under the Clean Water Act for every barrel of oil spilled. The scale of these fines could vary from $3.5bn to $18bn depending whether BP is found grossly negligent, a charge it has always denied.
BP said: "BP believes that today's agreement is consistent with its legal position that it was not grossly negligent. All the pleas related to the accident itself are based on no more than negligent conduct."
BP chief executive Bob Dudley said: "All of us at BP deeply regret the tragic loss of life caused by the Deepwater Horizon accident as well as the impact of the spill on the Gulf coast region. We apologize for our role in the accident, and as today's resolution with the U.S. government further reflects, we have accepted responsibility for our actions."
Carl-Henric Svanberg, BP's Chairman, said: "We believe this resolution is in the best interest of BP and its shareholders. It removes two significant legal risks and allows us to vigorously defend the company against the remaining civil claims."
The previous record fine was $1.3bn which Pfizer paid in 2009 for a marketing fraud.
Up to four BP staff may be arrested, Robert Peston, the BBC Business Editor, said.
BP has previously adamantly denied any suggestion that it was grossly negligent in the disaster, a charge that could trigger billions of dollars in penalties under the Clean Water Act.