BP hit by $25 million penalty over Alaska spill

BP has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to settle the federal civil suit that arose from the Prudhoe Bay oil transit line leaks in March and August of 2006. The agreement is in the form of a consent decree, which, if approved after a public review and comment period, would include three main elements:

• Payment of a civil penalty of $25 million.
• Compliance with a set of requirements covering Prudhoe Bay pipeline operations.
• Retention of an Independent Contractor to monitor Prudhoe Bay pipeline operations and report on compliance with the consent decree.

BP did not admit any liability nor was there any per barrel penalty assessed in the agreement. In 2006 BP operated 22 miles of oil transit pipeline at Prudhoe Bay.