BP Facing Record Fine in Deepwater Horizon Settlement

British oil giant BP could pay a record fine and plead guilty to criminal misconduct in the Deepwater Horizon disaster as a part of the plea deal with the U.S. Department of Justice, Reuters has reported, citing sources close to the matter. The agreement could be announced as early as today, Reuters further says, without specifying the sum BP is expected to pay.

A plea deal is an agreement in a criminal case between the prosecutor and defendant whereby the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a particular charge in return for some concession from the prosecutor.  The sources informed the news agency that the oil company has agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a waiver of future prosecution on the charges related to the 2010 explosion and oil spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

BP today issued a statement in which it says that it is in advanced discussions with the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding proposed resolutions of all US federal government criminal and SEC claims against BP in connection with the “Deepwater Horizon incident”, which caused the largest marine oil spill in the history of the oil industry.

“No final agreements have yet been reached,” said the company in the statement. BP added that any resolutions, if agreed, would be subject to federal court approvals in the United States.

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Offshore Energy Today Staff, November 15, 2012