BP on the Spot in Alaska

A series of oil spills in Alaska is ratcheting up the pressure on British Petroleum operations there. A huge 2006 North Slope spill, which led to fines and probation, and another leak last November have rattled Alaskan state officials, who are now out for blood, seeking new fines and scrutiny of the troubled oil giant.–JCL

The Guardian

BP is facing new fines in connection with its criminal conviction for a huge oil spill on Alaska’s North Slope in 2006.

Federal probation officer Mary Frances Barnes argued in an Anchorage federal court yesterday that a second spill in Alaska in November last year constituted a violation of its probation.

In 2006, a corroded pipeline leaked 200,000 gallons of oil on to the tundra in the worst leak in the history of the North Slope. The company was sentenced to three years’ probation and ordered to pay $20m (£12.5m) in criminal penalties and restitution.

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