BP Exploration and Production Inc entered guilty pleas to fourteen counts today for its conduct leading up to and following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that occurred in 2010. The oil giant was ordered to pay $4 billion in fines and penalties.

BP pleaded guilty to eleven counts of felony manslaughter, one count of felony obstruction of Congress and violations of the Clean Water and Migratory Bird Acts. During their plea BP admitted that the two highest-ranking sipervisors aboard the rig at the time of the incident, the “Well Site Leaders, or “Company Men,” negligently caused the deaths of the eleven men who perished on the rig during the initial blowout, as well as caused through their actions, the spill. The two men, according to BP, knew through their observations that the Macondo well wasn’t secure but did not take the appropriate steps to prevent the blowout.

BP also admitted during its plea that a senior executive of the company obstructed inquiries by Congress as to how much oil was being discharged into the Gulf during the spill. That senior executive withheld documents as well as provided false and misleading information from the House of Representatives as they requested how much oil was being discharged into the Gulf.

The senior executive knew that the amount of oil discharging into the Gulf was significantly higher that the 5,000 barrels he reported through his manipulation of estimates, said BP today.

The Flow Rate Technical Group, consisting of government and independent scientists, later concluded that more than 60,000 barrels per day were leaking into the Gulf during the relevant time, contrary to BP’s representations to Congress.

“Today’s guilty plea and sentencing represent a significant step forward in the Justice Department’s ongoing efforts to seek justice on behalf of those affected by one of the worst environmental disasters in American history,” said Attorney General Holder. “I’m pleased to note that more than half of this landmark resolution – which totals $4 billion in penalties and fines, and represents the single largest criminal resolution ever – will help to provide direct support to Gulf Coast residents as communities throughout the region continue to recover and rebuild.”

“The Deepwater Horizon explosion was a national tragedy that resulted in the senseless deaths of 11 people and immense environmental damage,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Through the tenacious work of the Task Force, BP has received just punishment for its crimes leading up to and following the explosion. The Justice Department will keep a watchful eye on BP’s compliance with the plea agreement’s terms, including the requirements of full cooperation with the department’s ongoing criminal investigation, implementation of enhanced safety protocols and adherence to the recommendations of two newly installed monitors. Should BP fail to comply, we will act swiftly and firmly.”

U.S. District Court Judge Sarah S Vance of the Eastern District of Louisiana accepted the plea by BP and imposed the sentence which also included five years probation. Five years probation is the longest probationary period under the law. The company is also required, according to the order entered by the court pursuant to the plea agreement, to retain a process safety and risk management monitor and an independent auditor, who will oversee BP’s process safety, risk management and drilling equipment maintenance with respect to deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. BP is also required to retain an ethics monitor to improve its code of conduct to ensure BP’s future candor with the U.S. government.

Judge Vance noted during sentencing that the consequential fines imposed under the plea agreement far exceed any imposed in U.S. history, and are structured so that BP will feel the full brunt of the penalties. She also noted that the agreement provides just punishment and significant deterrence, requiring detailed drilling safeguards, monitors and other stringent, special conditions of probation so that BP’s future conduct will be closely watched.