BP 2014 Annual Report Download - page 74

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, in co-ordination with other committee and
board oversight.
Members
Name Membership status
Ian Davis (chair) Member since July 2010; committee chair since
July 2010
Paul Anderson Member since July 2010
Frank Bowman Member since February 2012
George David Member since July 2010
Alan Boeckmann Member since September 2014
The chairman and the group chief executive attend all meetings of the
committee.
Activities during the year
The committee reviewed plans and progress in moving Gulf Coast
shoreline response activities through to completion and sign-off by the US
Coast Guard. Active clean-up activities are now complete in all states.
The committee continued to oversee numerous legal matters relating to
the Deepwater Horizon accident, including the ruling made in respect of
Phase 1 of the trial in MDL 2179 (and the subsequent appeal of that ruling),
preparation for the penalty phase of the trial and BP’s appeals to the US
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the US Supreme Court relating to
the Court Supervised Settlement Program.
The committee met 11 times in 2014.
Gulf of Mexico committee focus in 2014
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Impact on financial reporting.
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Legal Operational
ComplianceReputation
Committee review
Each year the Gulf of Mexico committee evaluates its performance and
effectiveness. Key areas covered included the balance of skills and
experience among its membership, quality and timeliness of information
and support received by the committee, the appropriateness of committee
tasks and how well the committee communicates its activities and findings
to the board.
The results of the evaluation were positive. Specific areas for focus in 2015
included maintaining constructive and challenging engagement with
management as well as continuing timely and effective communication of
its activities and findings to the board.
BP Annual Report and Form 20-F 201470