A $1.3 billion settlement with BP Plc is expected to be announced today by US Attorney General Eric Holder regarding the companies actions related to the Gulf Oil Spill. The company was charged with reckless management of the Macondo well that saw eleven oil workers killed and billions of dollars in fisheries destroyed in the Gulf of Mexico.
BP Plc is expected to pay a record U.S. criminal penalty and plead guilty to criminal misconduct in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster through a plea deal reached with the Department of Justice that may be announced as soon as Thursday, according to sources familiar with discussions.
Three sources, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said BP would plead guilty in exchange for a waiver of future prosecution on the charges.
BP confirmed it was in “advanced discussions” with the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
The talks were about “proposed resolutions of all U.S. federal government criminal and SEC claims against BP in connection with the Deepwater Horizon incident,” it said in a statement on Thursday, but added that no final agreements had been reached.
The discussion do not cover federal civil claims, both BP and the sources said.
