Energy, Oil Spill | featured news

A US court approves the biggest criminal fine in US history given to British oil giant BP as part of a settlement related to the fatal 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. In November, BP said it would pay $4bn (£2.5bn) to the US Department of Justice and agreed to plea guilty to 14 criminal charges. The sum included a $1.26bn fine.

A partial settlement of claims made against BP for the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is very close, sources tell the BBC.

Oil giant BP is back in the black, announcing profits of $5.3 billion just a year after the Deepwater Horizon disaster left it facing heavy losses.

Cleanup along the oil-fouled Yellowstone River could be tested as rising waters make it harder for Exxon to get to areas damaged by the crude spilled from a company pipeline.

Shares in oil major BP hit a six-month high on Tuesday after The Daily Mail newspaper reported rival Royal Dutch Shell had considered a takeover bid during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

BP lifted its estimate of the likely cost of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill by $7.7 billion to $39.9 billion on Tuesday, pushing its profits down sharply in spite of higher oil and gas prices.

BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley accused some politicians and the media on Monday of being too hasty to pin all the blame on his company for the devastating Gulf of Mexico spill - and emphasized the need for deep-water drilling.

Spill from blowout is degrading rapidly in warm waters, becoming tougher to find, director says.

BP said today its attempt to place a new cap on its ruptured undersea well was proceeding as planned. But while robots replace the old cap, crude is flowing freely.

Robert Dudley, who will take charge of BP’s spill response, has plenty of experience dealing with a hostile government, unhappy partners and angry citizens.