BP Faces a Grand Jury Criminal Investigation
BP is facing a criminal grand jury investigation into the biggest oil spill ever on US soil – a corroded transit line that leaked up to 270,000 gallons of crude in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, triggering investigations by federal and state agencies.
If the investigation goes against BP the company will face prosecution which – in the worst case scenario – could result in prison terms, significant fines and tighter restrictions around BP’s operations.
The Financial Times on Wednesday obtained an e-mail from Steve Marshall, president of BP Alaska, telling staff the UK company had received on April 26 a subpoena from a federal grand jury in Alaska. The grand jury, he said, had asked for “a variety of documents and data from BP Alaska concerning the transit line and certain other operational areas.” He urged them to treat the matter as confidential.
The investigation is not only highly unusual for a major oil company but embarrassing for BP and could result in legal proceedings against the company and individuals. The company has denied claims it failed to maintain the transit line, saying it had “manageable corrosion rates” in the pipeline.
Mr Marshall said BP was fully committed to cooperating and told staff they may be contacted to assist in helping BP answer the subpoena, also urging them to cooperate.
Daren Beaudo, BP spokesman, confirmed the message, noting that Mr Marshall had said: “I believe that the information we provide will show that the actions of BP Alaska were, at all times, proper.”
The grand jury investigation comes as BP’s US operations are under heightened scrutiny following a string of accidents and regulatory violations – most notably the March spill in Alaska and an explosion last year at its Texas City refinery that killed 15 people and injured an estimated 500.
BP is already facing a grand jury probe in Texas for that accident – at the company’s biggest refinery – meaning it could face legal retributions from two of its biggest US operations.
Ronnie Chappell, BP’s Texas spokesman, declined to comment on the investigation of the Texas refinery, at which the US Department of Labor uncovered more than 300 violations, leading to a settlement to improve processes and pay a maximum allowable $21m fine.
If BP has done anything wrong they need to pay. I guess the point is that mistakes happen, but mistakes shouldn’t happen when you follow the rules that are in place and if the rules were not followed there should be remunerations made.Â
BP has recently had a string of bad luck and it will be interesting to see if the bad luck has been created because they have cut corners. I like the fact that publicly BP is willing to work with the investigators.
June 7th, 2006 at 9:21 pm
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*Feel free to delete this comment as well.