0370 270 6000
Home arrow Insights & events arrow Resources arrow Blogs arrow First criminal charges filed for BP oil spill

First criminal charges filed for BP oil spill

26 April 2012

The first criminal charges relating to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill have been filed by the US justice department.

The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on 20 April 2011 killing 11 people and resulted in more than 200 million gallons of crude oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.

Kurt Mix, a former BP engineer involved in efforts to cap the well has been arrested and faces 2 counts of obstruction of justice for allegedly destroying evidence requested by US authorities. The evidence, in the form of text messages to a supervisor, allegedly revealed that the company’s efforts to control the oil spill were failing and that the amount of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico was more than the company had reported to officials.

This represents the first criminal claim brought against any workers involved in the accident or its aftermath. If convicted Mr Mix could potentially face 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 (roughly £155,000) for each count.

Related opinions

Homes England partners with local authorities to boost the levelling up agenda

Homes England, the government’s housing accelerator, has partnered with two local authorities, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Association of South Essex Local Authorities, in a new Strategic Place Partnership (SPP) which is designed to align with the government’s levelling up agenda by delivering new homes in the regions.

View blog

Carbon accounting for SMEs: what’s your carbon shoe size?

SMEs need to get a handle on their carbon footprints now to help identify where carbon, and financial savings can be made.

View blog

ESG for Beginners

As you probably know by now, the acronym 'ESG' stands for environmental, social and governance. Although the investment community initially coined the term, it has grown into a larger concept that can be applied more broadly to any business or practice.

View blog

COP26 starts this Sunday and will be vital for business: Browne Jacobson will be tracking the developments

This is a key moment for addressing the risks and opportunities that climate change presents to businesses. We look at what COP26 will likely mean for your business.

View blog

View all blogs

Mailing list sign up

Select which mailings you would like to receive from us.

Sign up

Quick links

Information

  1. ISO 27001 INFORMATION SECURITY MANAGEMENT UKAS
  2. Investors in people
  3. Lexcel
  5. Plain English Campaign Approved

© Copyright Browne Jacobson LLP 2022 - All rights reserved