BP 2015 Annual Report Download - page 77

Corporate governance
★ Defined on page 256.BP Annual Report and Form 20-F 2015 73
Role of the committee
The committee was formed in July 2010 to oversee the management and
mitigation of legal and licence to operate risks arising out of the Deepwater
Horizon accident and oil spill. Its work is integrated with that of the board,
which retains ultimate accountability for oversight of the group’s response
to the accident.
Key responsibilities
• Oversee the legal strategy for litigation, investigations and suspension/
debarment actions arising from the accident and its aftermath, including
the strategy connected with settlements and claims.
• Review the environmental work to remediate or mitigate the effects of
the oil spill in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and on the affected
shorelines.
• Oversee management strategy and actions to restore the group’s
reputation in the US.
• Review compliance with government settlement agreements arising out
of the Deepwater Horizon accident and oil spill, including the SEC
Consent Order, the Department of Justice plea agreement and the EPA
administrative agreement. This is done in co-ordination with other
committees and board oversight.
Members
Ian Davis (chair) Member since July 2010; committee chair
since July 2010
Paul Anderson Member since July 2010
Alan Boeckmann Member since September 2014
Frank Bowman Member since February 2012
George David Member from July 2010 to April 2015
George David ceased to be a member of the committee when he retired
from the board in April 2015.
Meetings and attendance
There were five committee meetings in 2015, including one by
teleconference. All directors attended every meeting for which they were
eligible, with the exception of George David who did not attend the
committee meeting called at short notice on 9 February 2015 due to a prior
commitment.
The evaluation results were generally positive. Committee members
considered that the committee continued to possess the right mix of skills
and background, had an appropriate level of support and received open and
transparent briefings from management. The committee considered that
the field trips remained an important element of its work, in particular as
such trips gave committee members the opportunity to examine how risk
management is being embedded in businesses and facilities, including
management culture. An area of focus for 2016 will be examining areas of
overlap across the committee and the audit committee in terms of how
financial and operational risk could be better managed.
Gulf of Mexico committee
Chairman’s introduction
The Gulf of Mexico committee continued to oversee the group’s response
to the Deepwater Horizon accident, ensuring the company fulfils all its
legitimate obligations while protecting and defending the interests of
the group. The major development in the year was the execution of
agreements in principle with the United States and five Gulf states
(Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas) on 2 July. These
agreements, subject to final court approval of the proposed Consent
Decree, resolve all Clean Water Act penalties, natural resource damage
claims and various economic loss claims pursued by the Gulf states.
Assuming that the Consent Decree order is approved by the court as
anticipated, we intend to recommend to the board that the committee
ceases its activities and is stood down at the end of the first quarter of
2016. Reporting of remaining proceedings will be made directly to the
board or other committees as appropriate thereafter.
Ian Davis
Committee chair
Gulf of Mexico committee focus in 2015
• Multi-district litigation 2179 and 2185.
• Natural resource damages.
• Suspension and debarment actions.
• Claims administration.
• Other litigation and investigation.
• Response and remediation activities.
• Natural resource damages assessment.
• Restoration projects.
• Department of Justice plea agreement.
• SEC consent order.
• External affairs and community outreach.
• US government and media communications.
• Internal communications.
• Licence to operate.
Legal Operational
ComplianceReputation