BP pledges $500m for research to deal with future spills

Oil giant BP has announced it will commit up to $500 million (£350.2 million) to conduct research into the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in an attempt to lessen the damage if it happened again.

Speaking about the large investment, chief executive Tony Hayward claimed the research programme will inform oil companies of how to reduce the impact of future oil spills on marine life.

He said: "This will be a key part of the process … for improving the industry response capability for the future."

The ten-year research programme will investigate the impact on the environment near the Gulf of Mexico, where an oil rig exploded on April 20th.

It will also examine the behaviour of oil on the water, how the oil reacts with tropical storms and what can be done to improve technology to contain future spills.

Last week (May 20th), the BP headquarters in London was targeted by Greenpeace activists criticising the oil company's response to the oil disaster.

Posted by Lauren Steadman