BP Settles Alaskan Oil Spill Cases
BP has agreed to plead guilty and pay $20 million in criminal penalties for the 2006 Prudhoe Bay oil spills, it was reported Friday.
The Alaskan spills, classified in the legal action against the London-based oil giant as a federal misdemeanor, allegedly were caused by neglect of known corroding pipelines.
BP managers were accused of ignoring many red flags and warning signs that key pipelines within the nation’s largest oil field were going bad, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
One of the leaks let an estimated 201,000 gallons of oil flow onto the tundra in March 2006, the largest oil spill ever on the North Slope.
Another leak the following August forced a temporary shutdown of half the field, reportedly driving up the world market price of oil.