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April 25, 2012

BP Engineer Faces First-Ever Criminal Charges for Oil Spill 
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A former drilling engineer for oil giant BP has been arrested and
charged with intentionally destroying evidence sought by authorities
after the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and oil spill two years ago.
Kurt Mix is the first person to face criminal charges for the disaster,
which killed 11 workers and sent nearly five million barrels of oil into
the Gulf of Mexico. Mix is accused of destroying text messages between
himself and a BP supervisor even though he was told to preserve all
information. The messages appear to show Mix was aware that BP’s
attempt to plug the gushing wellhead with mud — an effort known as
"top kill" — was failing. They indicate Mix knew oil was flowing
at a rate of more than 15,000 barrels a day at a time when the public
was being told the rate was 5,000 barrels per day. He is being charged
with two counts of obstruction of justice and could face up to 20 years
in prison and fines of $250,000 for each count.

 

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