One of the world’s largest oil companies
was hit with criminal indictments and hundreds of
millions of dollars in fines. Mark Brush has more on
the cases against British Petroleum:
Transcript
One of the world’s largest oil companies
was hit with criminal indictments and hundreds of
millions of dollars in fines. Mark Brush has more on
the cases against British Petroleum:
BP settled three different criminal cases brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency
and the Department of Justice.
The government found that the company ignored warning signs of a Texas refinery explosion
that killed 15 people. It was found negligent in a pipeline oil spill in Alaska. And BP
settled charges of a propane price fixing scheme. All told, the company with pay 373 million dollars in fines and restitution.
Eric Schaeffer is a former enforcement officer with the EPA. He says there’s a
philosophical divide between the company’s headquarters and it’s managers on the
ground:
“And that split in the company in their personality – that kind of schizophrenia – I hope is
going to go away after this settlement.”
BP apologized for breaking the law and say they will fix the problems.
For the Environment Report, I’m Mark Brush.