BP hit with $4.5bn US fine over Deepwater spill

BP has agreed to pay $4.5bn to settle charges related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The oil major has admitted liability for criminal charges and agreed to settle with the US Department of Justice. It will have to pay $4.5bn in total - including a $525m civil charge paid to the SEC between 2012 and 2014, and $4bn paid as a "resolution of criminal claims" with the DoJ. That resolution includes what BP breaks down into a $1.26bn criminal fine as well as separate payments, totalling $2.75bn, to the National Fish & Wildlife Association and the National Academy of Sciences. Both payments will be stagged over the next five years. The Deepwater Horizon disaster in Apr...