3 executives indicted and $4.5 billion in fines for BP

over Gulf oil spill; the largest such settlement in U.S. history.

Two employees of the oil giant BP have been indicted on manslaughter charges in connection with the 2010 Gulf oil rig blowout that killed 11 workers. A third executive was charged with lying to authorities about his work estimating the rate oil was flowing during the disaster. The charges come as BP announced that it has agreed to pay $4.5 billion in a settlement with the U.S. government to plead guilty to felony counts related to the deaths of the 11 workers and lying to Congress.
The explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig, 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, set off a spill that continued for 87 days, fouling large areas of the Gulf Coast of the United States with 206 million gallons of crude oil. "Thirteen of the 14 criminal charges pertain to the accident itself and are based on the negligent misinterpretation of the negative pressure test conducted on board the Deepwater Horizon," said a BP news release announcing the settlement. "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," said Bob Dudley, BP's Group Chief Executive
The $4.5 billion fine would dwarf the largest previous corporate criminal penalty assessed by the Department of Justice . BP still faces fines from the Clean Water Act and other federal environmental laws, payouts to thousands of fishermen and businesses hurt by the spill, fines under the Natural Resources Damage Assessment process and payouts to impacted states, Those fines and settlements could total more than $40 billion if BP is found "grossly negligent". BP has booked provisions of $38.1 billion to cover its liabilities from the incident, but the company has said the final cost remained highly uncertain. BP also recently announced that it expects to make the final payment this year to a $20 billion trust fund to cover damage from the blowout. In March, BP announced a settlement estimated at $7.8 billion with more than 100,000 individuals and businesses for medical and economic losses.
In January 2011, a U.S. presidential commission found that the spill was caused by time-saving, cost-cutting decisions by BP rig owner Transocean and cement contractor Halliburton.
In September last year, a team of Coast Guard officials and federal regulators concluded BP bears ultimate responsibility. Their report found BP violated U.S. regulations, ignored crucial warnings and made bad decisions during the cementing of the well a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico.