Oil giant BP Thursday agreed to pay 4.5 billion
dollars to the US authorities for criminal claims arising from the
2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the company
said in London.
Following a settlement reached with the US Justice Department and
the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over "all US federal
government criminal and SEC claims against BP, the sum will be paid
over a period between five to six years.
The penalty is believed to be the largest ever paid in US
corporate history, exceeding the 1.2-billion-dollar fine paid by
drugs group Pfizer for marketing fraud in 2009.
Eleven oil workers died in the explosion, which triggered the
biggest environmental disaster in US history, releasing 4.9 million
barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico over a period of 87
days.
"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," said Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive.
"We apologize for our role in the accident, and as today's
resolution with the US government further reflects, we have accepted
responsibility for our actions."
Dudley said that the agreement eliminated the possibility of any
further federal criminal charges against BP, which marked "another
significant step forward in removing legal uncertainty."
BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said the resolution was 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."
As part of the agreement, BP agreed to plead guilty to 11 counts
of misconduct or neglect relating to loss of life, the statement
said. The accident was due to "multiple causes," it added.
BP will pay 4 billion dollars, including 1.2 billion dollars in
criminal fines, in installments over a period of five years.
A total of 2.39 billion dollars will be paid to the National Fish
and Wildlife Foundation over a period of five years. In addition, 350
million dollars will be paid to the National Academy of Sciences over
a period of five years.
BP has undertaken large-scale asset sales to raise funds to meet
the claims, enabling it to set aside 38 billion dollars to cover its
liabilities from the disaster.
Aside from legal claims, BP expects to make a final payment of 860
million dollars into a 20-billion-dollar Gulf of Mexico Trust Fund by
the end of the year.
