BP confirms receiving subpoena in Alaska over oil leak

British oil company BP PLC confirmed Thursday it had received a subpoena from a U.S. grand jury investigating a massive oil leak in Alaska.

BP blamed the incident at Prudhoe Bay field in March, the largest ever spill on Alaska’s North Slope region, on a small hole caused by corrosion in a pipeline.

“We are fully cooperating with the investigation and we are carrying out our own investigation into what caused the corrosion,” BP spokesman David Nicholas said. “We believe that our actions were at all times proper.”

Up to 267,000 gallons were believed to have spilled onto the frozen ground from a 34-inch diameter pipeline in the tundra about 250 miles above the Arctic Circle.

AP