U.S. arrests BP engineer on criminal charges stemming from oil spill

A former BP drilling engineer was arrested Tuesday on charges of intentionally destroying text messages sought by federal authorities as evidence in the wake of the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster, the Justice Department said.

The two charges of obstruction of justice filed against Kurt Mix, in the Eastern District of Louisiana, are the first criminal charges connected to the oil spill caused by a blowout on BP’s Macondo well. If found guilty, Mix could face up to 20 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines for each count.

It remains unclear whether other criminal charges are to follow — one of the main uncertainties hanging over the London-based oil giant as it tries to pay settlements and move past the disaster, which was the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Eleven men were killed in the explosion that sank the drilling rig.

The charges against Mix are not related to the cause of the blowout or the design of BP’s botched attempts to stop the spill. Nor do they allege any wrongdoing by the company as a matter of policy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/us-arrests-bp-engineer-on-criminal-charges-stemming-from-oil-spill/2012/04/24/gIQA7TsoeT_print.html