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Subscribe to RSSBP agreed to pay the largest criminal fine ever brought against a single corporation; the U.S. government in turn agrees not to press more charges against the oil company responsible for the 2006 oil spill. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
Two former BP employees were charged Wednesday with manslaughter in the 2010 Gulf spill disaster, while BP itself was blocked from bidding for U.S. government contracts until it shows it no longer lacks "business integrity". BP responded by saying it was working with the Obama administration to do just that.
Gerald Herbert / AP
Robert Kaluza, a BP well site leader from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, talks with his attorneys outside court on Wednesday in New Orleans, La.
In New Orleans, a BP rig supervisor said he is innocent of manslaughter in the deaths of 11 workers in the 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig that started the spill disaster.
"I think about the tragedy of the Deepwater Horizon every day," Robert Kaluza told reporters just before his arraignment. "But I did not cause this tragedy. I am innocent and I put my trust, reputation and future in the hands of the judge and the jury."
Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, both BP well site leaders, were indicted earlier this month on manslaughter charges. The federal indictment accuses them of disregarding abnormal high-pressure readings that should have been clear indications of trouble just before the explosion.
Kaluza's attorney, Shaun Clarke, said the men are scapegoats.
"Bob and Don did their jobs," Clarke said. "They did them correctly and they did them in accordance with their training."
BP announced earlier this month that it will plead guilty to manslaughter, obstruction of Congress and other charges and pay a record $4.5 billion in penalties to resolve a Justice Department criminal probe.
Attorneys for BP and the Justice Department are scheduled to meet Dec. 11 with a federal judge to discuss a date for BP pleading guilty.
Matthew Hinton / AP
Donald Vidrine arrives at court Wednesday in New Orleans.
The Deepwater Horizon oil rig, owned by Transocean Ltd. but operated on behalf of BP, was drilling in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast on April 20, 2010, when it was rocked by an explosion.
The bodies of 11 workers were never recovered.
Former BP executive David Rainey was charged separately Wednesday with concealing information from Congress about the amount of oil that was leaking from the well. Millions of gallons of crude oil spewed from BP's well for months.
Also Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency banned BP from new federal contracts over its "lack of business integrity".
BP and its affiliates must demonstrate they can meet federal business standards, the EPA said. The suspension is "standard practice" and BP's existing U.S. government contracts are not affected, it said.
On the docks in Louisiana, fishermen and oystermen say the effects of the BP oil spill remain today. NBC's Anne Thompson has more.
In a statement, BP said it has been in "regular dialogue" with the EPA, and that the agency has informed BP that it is preparing an agreement that "would effectively resolve and lift this temporary suspension." The EPA has notified BP that the draft agreement will be available soon, BP said.
The U.S. government could use the suspension as leverage to pressure BP to settle civil charges, which could top $20 billion if BP is found to be grossly negligent for the spill under the U.S. Clean Water Act.
The Justice Department says it intends to prove in a court case set to get underway in February that BP was grossly negligent, a claim the company has adamantly refuted.
BP and the U.S. government likely worked out a deal on the timing of the suspension before BP agreed to sign off on the Nov. 15 criminal plea deal, said Samuel Buell, a Duke University Law School professor and former federal prosecutor.
"It's just inconceivable to me that BP's lawyers, that their board of directors would have entered into that agreement last week without the issue of a suspension or debarment having been addressed," Buell said.
One long-time critic of BP applauded the decision.
"After pleading guilty to such reckless behavior that killed men and constituted a crime against the environment, suspending BP's access to contracts with our government is the right thing to do," U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said in a statement.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Don't stop with just these two.
Go all the way to the top and get the real scoundrels behind this disaster. These two are being thrown under the bus as a peace offering to the US.
I'm not saying they are guilty or innocent. That's for the court to decide. I just want to see the honchos that give the orders to "drill at all costs" get theirs.
ROTFLMAO!!!!
An administration with no political or moral integrity questioning someone's "business integrity".
Priceless!
What I want to know is this.
Who signed off on that drilling method ?? Who signed off on the use of that blowout prevent-er ?? Who signed off on the use of the quick dry cement used to first cap the well ( they knew it would not work before they used it )?? Who gave the order to keep drilling when the pressure rose in the well ??
These people are the real criminals here. Along with the CEO and Board of Directors . Profit at any and all cost , workers and environment be damned.
Nobody in charge of an oil company would ever give orders to "drill at all costs".
That would require total stupidity that I do not believe exists within any of the major oil corporations. There are major safety requirements with all major oil corporations. BP would hazard to the side of safety. It does take individuals, device failure or communication mistakes for something like this to happen. I hated that this happened and hope it was just a one time accident or failure. I am certain that all companies are going to be on top of this to make sure it does not happen at any other location or ever agaiin.
Numb3rTech
So your saying that BP was "Hazarding to the side of safety" when they drilled the well in a fashion that EVERY other major oil company testified to the US Congress that they would have never drilled that well or any other using BP's method?
Were they also being good stewards of the Gulf environment when they used a blow-out prevention device that was known in advance by their people to not work?
Do you recall BP's statement in writing to the US Govt that they were fully prepared to handle a blowout and minimize damage in order to get the permit for the well? It was reveled later they had done a cut and paste from an old outdated plan from the 1970's.
Think about that before you go trumpeting BP as such a great company and this was some freak accident that could not have been prevented.
Okeeboy
Good post !!!!
Just wish more people would come to see the light. BP does things on the cheap, then lies about. Their top brass always puts the blame on lower level workers. The two employees mentioned in this story will most likely do some time. But the real criminals ( top brass ) have already bought their way out from under this mess. Must be nice to have friends in congress.
Note to Editor: Criminal defendants do not plead "innocent." They plead "not guilty."
Here is the interview from 60 Minutes.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-6490197.html
i hate bp.