BP will pay $4B in criminal penalties for role in 2010 Gulf disaster

A federal judge today approved an agreement for BP to plead guilty to manslaughter and other charges and pay a record $4 billion in criminal penalties for the company’s role in the 2010 oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Before she ruled, U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance heard testimony from relatives of 11 workers who died when BP’s blown-out Macondo well triggered an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and started the spill. BP agreed in November to plead guilty to charges involving the workers’ deaths and for lying to Congress about the size of the spill from its broken well, which spewed more than 200 million gallons of oil. Much of it ended up in the Gulf and soiled the shorelines of several states. The company could have withdrawn from the agreement if Vance had rejected it. Neither the Justice Department nor BP presented arguments to the judge before her decision in New Orleans today. Vance says the plea deal was “just punishment” considering the risks of litigation for BP and the alternatives to the settlement. Today’s deal doesn’t resolve the federal government’s civil claims against BP. The company could pay billions more in penalties for environmental damage. BP separately agreed to a settlement with lawyers for Gulf Coast residents and businesses that claim the spill cost them money. BP estimates the deal with private attorneys will cost the company roughly $7.8 billion. The Associated Press has more on this story here.