BP ties pay bonuses to safety

LONDON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Payment bonuses for the 80,000 people employed by British energy company BP will depend on safety, the chief executive officer told employees.

BP CEO Bob Dudley told employees in an e-mail message obtained by the BBC that fourth quarter pay bonuses were contingent on safety.

Dudley, who took over BP from Tony Hayward, said the company was taking the step to be "absolutely clear" that safety was the top priority for the tarnished energy company.

"In particular, we are committed to ensure that a low-probability, high-impact incident such as the Deepwater Horizon tragedy never happens again," the message read.

BP is struggling to repair its reputation after the summer oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A gas explosion in April killed 11 workers and sank the Deepwater Horizon oil platform.

The accident led to the worst accidental offshore oil spill in the history of the industry, releasing nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the gulf.

BP has been offloading overseas assets to help pay for the estimated $11 billion in costs related to the spill.