Bei BP habe "Kultur der Vernachlässigung der Sicherheit" geherrscht, kritisiert der Anwalt der US-Regierung.
26.02.13, 09:53
Der britische Ölkonzern
BP muss sich in einem Mammutprozess im US-Bundesstaat Louisiana gegen milliardenschwere Strafen und Schadenersatzforderungen wegen der Ölpest im
Golf von Mexiko verteidigen.
Zum Prozessauftakt am Montag übte die US-Regierung scharfe Kritik an der Sicherheit auf der 2010 explodierten Bohrinsel "Deepwater Horizon". Hinter den Kulissen laufen offenbar Verhandlungen über eine außergerichtliche Einigung.
The company logo of Halliburton oilfield services corporate offices is seen in Houston, Texas in this April 6, 2012 file photo. Halliburton Co said October 17, 2012 that its third-quarter profit fell due to inflated raw material costs and a slowdown in U.S. drilling, which showed no signs of picking up as many clients' budgets for the year were already spent. REUTERS/Richard Carson/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS LOGO ENERGY)
Das Verfahren vor einem Bundesgericht in
New Orleans fasst die verbleibenden Zivilklagen gegenBP, denSchweizer Bohrinselbetreiber
Transoceanund der für die Zementarbeiten am Bohrloch verantwortlichenUS-Firma
Halliburtonzusammen. Die drei Unternehmen haben sich auch untereinander verklagt. Im Kern geht es in dem komplexen Prozess um die Frage, wer welchen Anteil an der Verantwortung für die schlimmste
Ölpest in der Geschichte der
USA trägt - und wer am Ende wie viel dafür bezahlen muss.
Der Anwalt der US-Regierung, Michael Underhill, sagte, die Hauptschuld für die Explosion der "Deepwater Horizon" liege bei BP. Bei dem Konzern habe eine "Kultur der Vernachlässigung von Sicherheit" geherrscht, sagte Underhill. Aus Profitgier sei "rücksichtsloses Handeln" toleriert und bisweilen sogar gefördert worden.
epa03600447 Protesters display placards as the trial against BP stemming from the 2010 explosion of a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico began at Federal Court in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 25 February 2013. Lawyers for British Petroleum (BP) and the US Justice Department were due to square off 25 February, the opening day of a trial to determine liability in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Opening statements in the trial before US District Judge Carl Barbier are expected to last hours. The bill for the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and spill already has reached 38 billion dollars, but BP still faces the possibility of more costs associated with the disaster. EPA/SKIP BOLEN
Auch der Anwalt Jim Roy, der durch die Ölpest geschädigte Privatleute und Unternehmen vertritt, warf BP vor, "Gewinn und Produktion über Sicherheit" gestellt zu haben. Der Konzern habe die Bohrinsel neun Jahre lang unterhalten, ohne dass vorgeschriebene Inspektionen durchgeführt worden seien. Der Prozess werde zeigen, dass es bei BP eine Risikokultur gab, die "eher verlustavers als risikoavers" gewesen sei.
Vor dem Gerichtsgebäude hatten sich Demonstranten versammelt. Der Prozess wurde wegen des großen Interesses per Video in zusätzliche Gerichtsräume übertragen.
Als die Deepwater in die Luft flog
Bei der Explosion der Bohrinsel am 20. April 2010 waren elf Arbeiter ums Leben gekommen, Hunderte Millionen Liter Erdöl strömten ins Meer. 87 Tage dauerte es, bis BP das Leck schließen konnte. Die Küsten von fünf US-Bundesstaaten wurden verseucht, der Fischfang und der Tourismus an der Golfküste schwer geschädigt.
dapdFILE - This April 21, 2010 file photo shows oil in the Gulf of Mexico, more than 50 miles southeast of Venice on Louisianas tip, as a large plume of smoke rises from fires on BPs Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig. The Justice Department says the fir
ReutersThis NASA MODIS satellite image of the Gulf of Mexico, taken May 23, 2010, shows the extent of the oil released from the Deepwater Horizon spill. The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 workers and spewed oil for 87 str
dapdThis 2011 photo provided by Donald Waters shows a fish harvested from the Gulf of Mexico with unusual lesions and infections. Two years after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank, touching off the worst offshore spill in U.S. history, the lates
dapdThis 2011 photo provided by Donald Waters shows a fish harvested from the Gulf of Mexico with unusual lesions and infections. Two years after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank, touching off the worst offshore spill in U.S. history, the lates
dapdThis 2012 photo provided by Steven Murawski shows a fish harvested from the Gulf of Mexico with unusual lesions and infections. Two years after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank, touching off the worst offshore spill in U.S. history, the lat
dapdThis 2011 photo provided by Donald Waters shows a fish harvested from the Gulf of Mexico with unusual lesions and infections. Two years after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank, touching off the worst offshore spill in U.S. history, the lates
REUTERSOil-covered pelicans sit in a pen waiting to be cleaned at a rescue center facility set up by the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Fort Jackson, Louisiana, in this June 7, 2010 file photo. The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling
REUTERSAn exhausted oil-covered brown pelican sits in a pool of oil along Queen Bess Island Pelican Rookery, 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Grand Isle, Louisiana, in this June 5, 2010 file photo. The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which k
dapdIn this October 2010 photo made available by Penn State University, the Alvin submersible vehicle inspects a coral site found to be impacted by the oil spill from the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico. (Foto:Chuck Fisher of Penn State University and
REUTERSClean up crews walk past beachgoers as they look for globs of oil on Dolphin Island, Alabama, in this June 4, 2010 file photo. The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 workers and spewed oil for 87 straight days, soaked
dapdFILE - In this May 23, 2010 file photo, Pelicans are seen nesting on mangrove on Cat Island, as it is impacted by oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in Barataria Bay in Plaquemines Parish, La. (Foto:Gerald Herbert, file/AP/dapd)
ReutersBP-contracted clean up workers remove oil from parts of Gulf Shores beach, Alabama, in this June 8, 2010. The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 workers and spewed oil for 87 straight days, soaked hundreds of miles of
REUTERSA pelican flies as a drilling platform is pictured near Breton Island, Louisiana May, in this May 3, 2010 file photo. The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig (NOT PICTURED), which killed 11 workers and spewed oil for 87 straight days, s
REUTERSPoggy fish lie dead stuck in oil in Bay Jimmy near Port Sulpher, Louisiana, in this June 20, 2010 file photo. The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 workers and spewed oil for 87 straight days, soaked hundreds of miles
REUTERSA hard hat from an oil worker lies in oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana, in this June 8, 2010 file photo. The explosion on the drilling rig, which killed 11 workers and spewed oil for 87 straight days, s
ReutersFire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon, off Louisiana, in this handout photograph taken on April 21, 2010. The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 workers and spew
dapdARCHIV: Das Luftbild zeigt im Golf von Mexiko Loschboote, die versuchen die brennenden Oelbohrplattform Deepwater Horizon zu loeschen (Foto vom 21.04.10). Im milliardenschweren Prozess um die Oelkatastrophe im Golf von Mexiko im Jahr 2010 haben sich B
dapdThe edge of Cat Island, which has eroded heavily since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, is seen in Barataria Bay in Plaquemines Parish, La., Wednesday, April 11, 2012. (Foto:Gerald Herbert/AP/dapd)
dapdPelicans are seen sitting on dead mangrove where they formerly nested, on Cat Island, which has eroded significantly since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Barataria Bay in Plaquemines Parish, La., Wednesday, April 11, 2012. (Foto:Gerald Herbert/AP/
EPAepa03123044 (FILE) A file photo dated 20 June 2010 shows thick crude oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill being collected in the Bay Jimmy marsh section of Barataria Bay near Port Sulphur, Louisiana, USA. Reports state that the court hearing int
dapdFILE - In this June 15, 2010 file photo, a member of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindals staff wearing a glove reaches into thick oil on the surface of the northern regions of Barataria Bay in Plaquemines Parish, La. An April 20, 2010 explosion at the BP Dee
dapdIn this two picture combo, a pelican is seen landing on a nest in a thicket of mangrove, May 22, 2010, on Cat Island, home to hundreds of brown pelican nests as well at terns, gulls and roseate spoonbills, as it was being impacted by oil from the Deep
dapdIn this two picture combo, nesting pelicans are seen on May 22, 2010, left, as oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill washes ashore on Cat Island, home to hundreds of brown pelican nests as well at terns, gulls and roseate spoonbills, in Barataria B
EPAepa02694481 A twofold composite picture released on 19 April 2011 shows (top) Christopher Rice walking with his four children down the oil covered public beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama USA on 12 June 2010 and (bottom) Josten Stanley, aged 9, building a
EPAepa02694464 (FILE) A file photo released by the U.S. Coast Guard on 20 May 2010 shows an oil being burned from the Deepwater Horizon/BP incident. An estimate 5 million barrels of oil spewed into the Gulf from the underwater leak, following the explosio
REUTERSPoggy fish lie dead stuck in oil in Bay Jimmy near Port Sulpher, Louisiana, in this June 20, 2010 file photo. The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 workers and spewed oil for 87 straight days, soaked hundreds of miles
Mehrere Milliarden Dollar Schadenersatz
BP hat bereits mehrere tausend Zivilklagen außergerichtlich beigelegt und verpflichtete sich dabei zu Schadenersatz in Höhe von 7,8 Milliarden Dollar. Außerdem akzeptierte der Konzern in einer Vereinbarung mit der US-Justiz Strafzahlungen von 4,5 Milliarden Dollar. BP bekannte sich wegen Totschlags in elf Fällen sowie Verstößen gegen Umweltschutzgesetze schuldig - im Gegenzug stellte die US-Justiz das Strafverfahren ein.
Die Ölkatastrophe dürfte das Unternehmen aber noch teurer zu stehen kommen. Die US-Regierung will BP in dem Zivilverfahren nun wegen grober Fahrlässigkeit zur Rechenschaft ziehen. Damit könnten BP weitere Forderungen in zweistelliger Milliardenhöhe wegen Verstößen gegen Umweltschutzgesetze drohen. Die New York Times berichtete von Gesprächen über eine außergerichtliche Einigung. Die
Regierung in Washington und betroffene Bundesstaaten sollen BP demnach ein Vergleichsangebot über 16 Milliarden Dollar unterbreitet haben.
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