20:56
Unknown
WASHINGTON: BP agreed on Thursday to pay a record $4.5 billion in US fines for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill and pleaded guilty to 14 counts including felony manslaughter in the deaths of 11 workers.
Two of the British energy giant’s on-board supervisors also face involuntary manslaughter charges for failing to prevent the April 20, 2010 explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig.
A former BP executive was charged with obstruction of justice for lying about how much oil was gushing out of the runaway well.
It took 87 days to cap BP’s runaway Macondo well 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) below the water surface as it spewed some 4.9 million barrels (206 million gallons) of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and blackened beaches in five states.
The blast — which shattered the company’s reputation — unleashed the biggest marine oil spill in the industry’s history and the worst environmental disaster to strike the United States to date.
BP signed a plea agreement acknowledging guilt on 11 counts of manslaughter, one count of felony obstruction of Congress and two environmental violations — of the Clean Water and Migratory Bird Treaty Acts, the Justice Department said.
“This is an indication and perhaps a vindication that we have shown and the company has admitted that as a result of their actions people died there unnecessarily,” Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters.
He added that he hoped the settlements would bring some “comfort as to why those brave people lost their lives but at the end of the day we can’t bring them back.”
Holder put BP on notice that its legal troubles are far from over, saying: “Our criminal investigation remains ongoing — and we’ll continue to follow all credible leads and pursue any charges that are warranted.” He noted that the Justice Department had “failed to resolve” a civil case to determine how much BP should pay in environmental fines, which could amount to as much as $18 billion if gross negligence is found.
“We’re looking forward to the trial — which is scheduled to begin in February of next year — in which we intend to prove that BP was grossly negligent in causing the oil spill,” Holder told a press conference.
BP vowed to “continue to vigorously defend itself against all remaining civil claims and to contest allegations of gross negligence in those cases.”
It remains on the hook for economic damages, including the cost of environmental rehabilitation.
The massive criminal fines — which will be paid over six years — will be relatively easy for BP to absorb. It has a market value of $127 billion and last month hiked its shareholder dividend after posting a bumper third quarter profit of $5.43 billion.
Environmental group Greenpeace was quick to slam the settlement as inadequate.
“This fine amounts to a rounding error for a corporation the size of BP,” Greenpeace senior investigator Mark Floegel said.
Two of the British energy giant’s on-board supervisors also face involuntary manslaughter charges for failing to prevent the April 20, 2010 explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig.
A former BP executive was charged with obstruction of justice for lying about how much oil was gushing out of the runaway well.
It took 87 days to cap BP’s runaway Macondo well 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) below the water surface as it spewed some 4.9 million barrels (206 million gallons) of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and blackened beaches in five states.
The blast — which shattered the company’s reputation — unleashed the biggest marine oil spill in the industry’s history and the worst environmental disaster to strike the United States to date.
BP signed a plea agreement acknowledging guilt on 11 counts of manslaughter, one count of felony obstruction of Congress and two environmental violations — of the Clean Water and Migratory Bird Treaty Acts, the Justice Department said.
“This is an indication and perhaps a vindication that we have shown and the company has admitted that as a result of their actions people died there unnecessarily,” Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters.
He added that he hoped the settlements would bring some “comfort as to why those brave people lost their lives but at the end of the day we can’t bring them back.”
Holder put BP on notice that its legal troubles are far from over, saying: “Our criminal investigation remains ongoing — and we’ll continue to follow all credible leads and pursue any charges that are warranted.” He noted that the Justice Department had “failed to resolve” a civil case to determine how much BP should pay in environmental fines, which could amount to as much as $18 billion if gross negligence is found.
“We’re looking forward to the trial — which is scheduled to begin in February of next year — in which we intend to prove that BP was grossly negligent in causing the oil spill,” Holder told a press conference.
BP vowed to “continue to vigorously defend itself against all remaining civil claims and to contest allegations of gross negligence in those cases.”
It remains on the hook for economic damages, including the cost of environmental rehabilitation.
The massive criminal fines — which will be paid over six years — will be relatively easy for BP to absorb. It has a market value of $127 billion and last month hiked its shareholder dividend after posting a bumper third quarter profit of $5.43 billion.
Environmental group Greenpeace was quick to slam the settlement as inadequate.
“This fine amounts to a rounding error for a corporation the size of BP,” Greenpeace senior investigator Mark Floegel said.
Posted in: Business news
0 comments:
Post a Comment