JUNEAU, Alaska, May 24 (UPI) -- Embattled energy company BP is fighting off federal and Alaskan lawsuits over a 2006 oil spill at the Prudhoe Bay field, lawyers said.
BP and federal lawyers filed papers with the U.S. District Court in Anchorage outlining "extensive settlement discussions" in connection with a 2006 accident, the Anchorage Daily News reports.
BP in 2007 was forced to pay $20 million in fines and restitution for violations of the Clean Water Act stemming from a 200,000-gallon spill from a corroded pipeline in 2006. It was the largest oil spill ever in the area.
Meanwhile, Alaska filed a civil suit against the British supermajor in the state superior court asking for compensation for lost revenue from spills and pipeline repairs.
Juneau is asking BP to pay at least $1 billion in the civil suit. State lawyers said BP was "reckless" with its neglect of corroded oil pipelines, the Daily News report said. BP complains the state suit is seeking excessive compensation in its claims.
The British energy company asked state judges to dismiss the state case.
BP is under fire for its mishandling of a giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. State and federal regulators are anxious over the BP response since the Deepwater Horizon rig caught fire and sank in April.
