BP settles with US for $4.5 billion in Gulf spill

  • By MICAHEL KUNZELMAN
  • Posted: Thursday, November 15, 2012 12:04 p.m.
    UPDATED: Thursday, November 15, 2012 12:06 p.m.
FILE - In this April 21, 2010 file image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon. British oil company BP said Thursday Nov. 15, 2012 it is in advanced talks with U.S. agencies about settling criminal and other claims from the Gulf of Mexico well blowout two years ago. In a statement, BP said
FILE - In this April 21, 2010 file image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon. British oil company BP said Thursday Nov. 15, 2012 it is in advanced talks with U.S. agencies about settling criminal and other claims from the Gulf of Mexico well blowout two years ago. In a statement, BP said "no final agreement has yet been reached" and that any such deal would still be subject to court approvals. (AP Photo/US Coast Guard, File)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Oil giant BP says it has agreed to pay $4.5 billion in a wide-ranging settlement with the U.S. government over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The London-based multinational company said in a statement Thursday it agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges including 11 felony counts of misconduct related to the deaths of 11 men in the rig explosion that triggered the oil spill. It also agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of obstruction of Congress.

The settlement total of $4.5 billion over five years includes nearly $1.3 billion in criminal fines — the largest such penalty ever — along with payments to several government agencies.

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