Oil giant BP is to pay the biggest fine in US history after agreeing a £2.8billion ($4.5billion) settlement with authorities for claims relating to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
BP will pay the fine over six years after reaching a deal with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that has seen it plead guilty to 14 criminal charges relating to the oil rig accident in 2010, which killed 11 workers and spilled millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
Bob Dudley, chief executive of BP, said: “We apologise for our role in the accident and as today’s resolution with the US government further reflects, we have accepted responsibility for our actions.”
Under the deal, BP has pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts of misconduct or neglect and three misdemeanour counts; including one under the Clean Water Act and one for obstructing Congress.
The record-breaking fine surpasses even the £820million ($1.3billion) fine paid by drug giant Pfizer in 2009 for marketing fraud related to a pain medicine.
BP will pay about £2.5billion to the DoJ in instalments over five years plus an additional £331million to the SEC over three years.
It will make the first payment of £110million this year to the SEC.
The group has already paid out more than £24billion ($38billion) relating to the oil spill.
Mr 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. Since the spill, we have worked hard to rebuild confidence in the company. We take seriously not only our commitment to safety and operational excellence but also our communications with stakeholders, including the public, the government and our investors.”
Yesterday’s settlement removes some of the uncertainty hanging over the stock since the disaster, but it does not cover outstanding civil claims against the group.
BP said it would continue to vigorously defend itself against civil claims and allegations of gross negligence. Mr Dudley said: “We are open to settlements, but only on reasonable terms.”
Meanwhile, US attorney general Eric Holder said a grand jury had indicted two BP employees on 23 criminal counts related to the oil spill. The two highest-ranking BP supervisors aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig were facing a range of manslaughter and other charges, he said, while a former senior BP executive was also charged with misleading Congress about the spill.
BP said that, as part of the settlement, it had agreed to improve safety at its Gulf of Mexico drilling operations and appoint two monitors to review safety and ethics at the company.