14 DAY TRIAL // Rumor has it that, in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, BP executive David Rainey used Wikipedia as a “realiable” source of information, meaning that he turned to this online encyclopedia in order to “estimate” the size of the spill.
Needless to say, it would have probably been a much better idea to consult engineers and scientists, seeing how the information provided by Wikipedia at that time and the estimates carried out by researchers did not really see eye to eye.
Thus, David Rainey's numbers were roughly 20 times smaller than the ones provided by specialists.
Interestingly enough, this BP executive decided to stick to his initial opinion even after new information started pouring in.
Because of his lying to the US Congress in this manner, David Rainey will probably be made to spend about five years in prison, Tree Hugger says.
“According to allegations filed in a Louisiana court Thursday, Mr. Rainey used information gleaned from the online encyclopedia to estimate that the Deepwater rig was leaking 5,000 barrels of oil a day,” reads one of Tree Hugger's sources.
Furthermore, “And he stuck to that figure, defending his calculation vigorously in public and before the US Congress despite calls from many other, including BP engineers, that it was far too low.”
As reported yesterday, the London-based British multinational oil and gas company BP and the US agreed to a $4.5 billion (€3.52 billion) settlement.
Moreover, two of the company's rig supervisors are facing manslaughter charges due to the fact that their negligence caused 11 workers to die when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded back in April 2010.
“We apologize for our role in the accident, and as today's resolution with the U.S. government further reflects, we have accepted responsibility for our actions,” a spokesperson for BP oil said.
However, it seems that this company still has quite a lot of explaining to do.