Shareholders file lawsuit against top BP executives

BP faced fresh controversy today after shareholders filed a lawsuit against senior executives following the partial shutdown of its Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska.

BP was forced to halve the capacity of production at Prudhoe Bay – the largest oil field in the United States – after the discovery of corroded pipes last week.

Highly respected BP chief executive Lord Browne of Madingley and a number of other senior executives now face legal action after shareholders alleged the company knew about the pipeline corrosion for years.

The shareholders claim BP took no substantial steps to properly monitor and repair the pipes, which ferry oil straight into the 800-mile trans-Alaska pipeline.

The closure has more than halved the field’s daily 400,000-barrel output. Oil from Prudhoe Bay makes up about 8% of US oil supply.

The lawsuit is the latest problem to blight BP’s Alaskan operations after a criminal investigation was launched into a major leak that spilled 267,000 gallons of oil across the North slope of Prudhoe Bay in March.

The fresh lawsuit was filed in New York on Monday and names Lord Browne and more than a dozen other top BP executives as defendants.

It seeks unspecified damages and was brought by investor Sue Pincus on behalf of BP shareholders “to remedy the severe harm caused to the company by its senior officers’ and directors’ mismanagement and neglect”.

BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

BP estimates the costs for repairing leaks and corrosion along 16 miles of pipeline will reach about £89.4m (€132.2m). The London-based company has not disclosed how costs will be shared by the field’s other owners, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil.