A former BP PLC (BP) employee and senior responder during the
2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill has agreed to pay $224,118 to
settle charges of insider trading, the Securities and Exchange
Commission said Thursday.
Keith A. Seilhan of Tomball, Texas, has agreed to return more
than $100,000 of allegedly ill-gotten gains and pay a civil
penalty.
As part of the settlement, which is subject to court approval,
Mr. Seilhan didn't admit or deny the allegations.
A spokesman for Stone Energy Corp. (SGY), where Mr. Seilhan now
works as vice president for Gulf of Mexico Deepwater operations,
said Mr. Seilhan wasn't available for comment.
BP couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
According to the complaint, filed in a Louisiana federal court,
Mr. Seilhan, then an employee of BP and an experienced crisis
manager, was tasked with coordinating oil collection and cleanup
operations.
The complaint claims Mr. Seilhan received privileged information
on the extent of the disaster, including oil flow estimates and
volume of oil floating on the Gulf.
The price of BP securities fell sharply after the April 20,
2010, explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig and subsequent Gulf of
Mexico oil spill, which led to an extensive and costly cleanup
effort.
The complaint alleges that as of April 29, 2010, BP estimated
the flow rate of the spill in regulatory filings as up to 5,000
barrels of oil a day. The company's public estimate was
significantly lower than the actual flow rate, later estimated to
be between 52,700 and 62,200 barrels of oil a day, the SEC
said.
The complaint charges Mr. Seilhan, knowing the magnitude of the
spill and the company's potential liability, directed the sale of
his family's entire $1 million portfolio of BP securities.
The agency said the trades allowed Mr. Seilhan to avoid losses
and reap unjust profits as the price of BP securities dropped by
about 48% after the sales on April 29 and April 30, 2010, reaching
their lowest point in late June 2010.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
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