A former BP executive has been acquitted of lying about how much oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion five years ago.
David Rainet had been facing up to five years in prison if he had been found guilty of wilfully making a fraudulent statement to federal law enforcement agents.
The case had been brought by the government regarding statements Rainey made to agents from the FBI and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) nearly a year after the spill.
The Justice Department’s lawyer Robert Zink said witness testimony and text messages had shown Rainey had deliberately understated the flow rate.
In 2010 he sent a 5,000 barrel-a-day estimate to congress, however a group of government and independent scientists had later concluded more than 60,000 barrels per day were leaking into the Gulf at the time.
But a lawyer acting on Rainey’s behalf said prosecutors had not offered a convinving reason why Rainey would lie to investigators.
In the days after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded 50 miles off Louisiana’s coast, BP said about 1,000 barrels of oil per day were flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.
Then, a week later, a government scientist estimated the flow at nearly 5,000 barrels, but said he could not vouch for the accuracy of that figure.
BP agreed to pay $4.5 billion in fines and other penalties and pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the spill.
It is also facing up to $13.7 billion in penalties under the Clean Water Act.
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