Article 10
BP Will Plead Guilty and Pay Over $4 Billion
Topic: BP Oil Spill Incident
Author: Clifford Krauss and John Schwartz
Date: November 15
This article is about the BP, the British oil company pleading guilty and agreeing to pay $4.5 billion in fines and other penalties and to plead guilty to 14 criminal charges related to the rig explosion two years ago that killed 11 people and caused a giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The government said that BP’s carelessness in sealing an exploratory well caused it to explode, sinking the Deepwater Horizon drill rig and unleashing a gusher of oil that lasted for months and coated beaches all along the Gulf Coast. The company initially tried to cover up the severity of the spill, misleading both Congress and investors about how quickly oil was leaking from the runaway well, according to the settlement and related charges. As a result, it also agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of obstruction of Congress over its statements about the flow rate. The victim's relatives were pleased about the companies' responsible action but this would not change the fact that their loved ones has died and can never be return. The BP stated that 5,000 barrels of oils were flowing into the Gulf but in reality, 60,000 of oils were being released. Under the Clean Water Act, fines could range from $1,100 for every barrel spilled through simple negligence to as much as $4,300 a barrel if the company were found to have been grossly negligent. With an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled in the accident, the company faces liabilities of as much as $5.4 billion to $21 billion.
I decided to pick this article because it seemed interesting to me, and it was. The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico was a very huge issue and it was all over the news so it is very helpful for me to know that the cause of this is their staff's carelessness in sealing an exploratory well that caused it to explode. BP's integrity was shown through their responsible actions but they should not have tried to hide the flow rate of oil barrels into the Gulf. This only ruined their image and destroyed their well-respected reputation.
Topic: BP Oil Spill Incident
Author: Clifford Krauss and John Schwartz
Date: November 15
This article is about the BP, the British oil company pleading guilty and agreeing to pay $4.5 billion in fines and other penalties and to plead guilty to 14 criminal charges related to the rig explosion two years ago that killed 11 people and caused a giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The government said that BP’s carelessness in sealing an exploratory well caused it to explode, sinking the Deepwater Horizon drill rig and unleashing a gusher of oil that lasted for months and coated beaches all along the Gulf Coast. The company initially tried to cover up the severity of the spill, misleading both Congress and investors about how quickly oil was leaking from the runaway well, according to the settlement and related charges. As a result, it also agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of obstruction of Congress over its statements about the flow rate. The victim's relatives were pleased about the companies' responsible action but this would not change the fact that their loved ones has died and can never be return. The BP stated that 5,000 barrels of oils were flowing into the Gulf but in reality, 60,000 of oils were being released. Under the Clean Water Act, fines could range from $1,100 for every barrel spilled through simple negligence to as much as $4,300 a barrel if the company were found to have been grossly negligent. With an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled in the accident, the company faces liabilities of as much as $5.4 billion to $21 billion.
I decided to pick this article because it seemed interesting to me, and it was. The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico was a very huge issue and it was all over the news so it is very helpful for me to know that the cause of this is their staff's carelessness in sealing an exploratory well that caused it to explode. BP's integrity was shown through their responsible actions but they should not have tried to hide the flow rate of oil barrels into the Gulf. This only ruined their image and destroyed their well-respected reputation.