BP May Pay Billions for ‘Missed Signals’ That Led to Disaster
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BP Plc remains at risk for billions of dollars in fines and legal costs even after a U.S. commission said safety wasn’t sacrificed for profit in the weeks and days leading up to the worst U.S. offshore oil spill.
The presidential panel said yesterday it found no evidence so far that BP, operator of the Gulf of Mexico well that erupted in April and spewed 4.9 million barrels of crude, intentionally jeopardized safety to cut costs. The catastrophe stemmed from “several very human decisions made by competent persons who missed signals,” said William Reilly, co-chairman of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.