British oil company BP will pay a record fine to settle part of its liability for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig accident in the Gulf of Mexico in a deal to be announced by the US Justice Department, a judicial source told Reuters.
The explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform on April 20, 2010, which killed 11 workers, caused an environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The explosion was followed by a three-month seabed oil spill, causing the largest environmental disaster in US history.
A source familiar with the negotiations between BP and the US Department of Justice did not disclose the amount of money involved, but said it would be the largest fine in US history. That record is currently held by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. which paid US$1,3 billion in 2009 for marketing fraud related to their painkiller.
A huge oil slick, the result of a three-month oil leak
British energy giant BP is expected to admit criminal responsibility for the Deepwater Horizon disaster in a settlement it reached with the US Justice Department, a source said, in exchange for immunity from future prosecution on those charges.
BP and the Ministry of Justice did not want to comment on this news. London-based BP has been negotiating with the US government and Gulf of Mexico states for months. The settlement would allow BP to address much of its liability, but it still faces claims for damages from several federal Gulf states and other private plaintiffs.
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