Federal regulators have cited BP with another round of violations in connection with the Deepwater Horizon explosion, the workers killed in the incident, and the massive oil spill that erupted from the Macondo well a mile below the surface. Each safety violation the government cites BP for entails a civil penalty that the oil giant will have to pay should the charges stick.
BP levied some hefty accusations against Halliburton Energy Services in court Monday, claiming the company intentionally destroyed cement samples, test results, and computer models that would have demonstrated the contractor’s culpability in the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
BP has settled a legal dispute with another of its Macondo well partners over damages stemming from the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, which killed 11 workers and set off the 5-million-barrel Gulf of Mexico oil spill last year. Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum, a 25-precent owner in the Macondo venture, has agreed to drop its claims of gross negligence against BP and give the oil giant one cash payment of $4 billion in exchange for indemnification for certain legal claims.
A new federal government report released this week blames BP for most of the errors and oversights that caused the fatal Macondo well blowout and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Compiled by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), the report echoes the findings of earlier probes, including those of a commission formed by President Obama to determine the cause of the spill, but it also slams BP for violating several federal safety regulations in an effort to save time and money.
Weatherford U.S. LP, a Swiss oilfield service company that designed parts of BP’s blown-out Macondo well, has agreed to pay BP $75 million to preclude any future claims between the companies. The agreement also stipulates that BP will cover Weatherford for economic and environmental oil-spill damages should the company be named in lawsuits brought by plaintiffs harmed by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
A year ago today, the offshore oil platform Deepwater Horizon, which owner Transocean leased to BP for exploratory drilling, collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico after exploding and burning for nearly two days. Now BP is suing Transocean and two other companies, claiming their work and involvement with the rig contributed to the catastrophic oil spill.
BP managers responsible for decisions governing the Deepwater Horizon platform’s operations may face manslaughter charges for the deaths of 11 workers who were killed when the rig exploded last April 20, according to a Bloomberg report. The federal investigation also stretches to the top of BP’s hierarchy as it seeks to determine whether former BP CEO Tony Hayward withheld information, stonewalled investigators, or made statements contrary to his knowledge in his testimony before Congress during hearings last year.
MONTGOMERY, ALA—The state of Alabama’s lawsuits against BP PLC and its business partners are advancing smoothly and have an advantage over others, Rhon Jones of Beasley Allen told the Mobile Press-Register.
According to National Geographic magazine, scientists discovered a massive deep-sea coral die-off this month about 7 miles southwest of the site where BP’s blown-out well spewed millions of gallons of crude oil for months.
On August 12, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced BP finally agreed to pay a record $50.6-million fine for safety violations that led to the 2005 explosion at its Texas City, Texas, refinery that killed 15 workers and injured 170 others. Now, in the wake of its oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, BP faces federal fines that will make the Texas City penalties look like pocket change.
