BP report on oil disaster met with skepticism

The report released Wednesday by energy giant BP of its internal investigation into the catastrophic explosion in April of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and the subsequent spill from the Macondo oil well has been met with criticism by watchdog groups who question the company's motives. "BP is distributing the blame and deflecting responsibility for the incident so they can justify their continued operation in the Gulf," Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, told IPS. "Rather than accept the blame and financial consequences for its disaster, BP is continuing to point fingers at everyone it can," said Kieran Suckling, executive director of the conservation group Center for Biological Diversity. Further investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice could lead to serious financial consequences for BP. "BP is clearly trying to limit its financial liability by blaming other companies and denying there was criminal negligence," Suckling told IPS. "If the Department of Justice concludes that BP was criminally negligent, its fines under the Clean Water Act will quadruple from 1,300 dollars per barrel to 4,300 dollars. That is more than a 10- billion-dollar difference." BP spokespersons were quick to emphasize that the company did not hold sole responsibility for the explosion and the resultant spill–the largest in the petroleum industry's history.