BP to pay $255M in Alaska oil spill

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- BP has been ordered to pay more than $250 million in damages for a 2006 oil spill in Alaska.

An arbitration panel in Alaska ordered a regional subsidiary of BP to pay $255 million in penalties to the state by Dec. 3.

BP in 2007 pleaded guilty to a Clean Water Act violation stemming from a 5,700-barrel spill from the Prudhoe Bay field the previous year. The U.S. government claims the company violated its probation when about 380 barrels spilled in the same area in 2009.

Federal lawyers in 2011 said the 2009 spill "vividly demonstrates" that BP wasn't serious about safety in its Alaska operations.

BP spokeswoman Dawn Patience told Bloomberg News the company would divide the judgment among stakeholders ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Chevron. BP said its share of the penalties would represent about $66 million.

The company in a separate statement said it was "pleased to finally resolve the last remaining claim" from the north Alaska spill.