At issue was whether the company should continue to be on federal probation, which it had been on intermittently since 2001. The latest term was due to end in November 2010, but BP's federal probation officer asked that it be revoked before then because of the 2009 spill that dumped 13,500 gallons of oil onto the tundra.

The line that ruptured at the company's Lisburne field on Alaska's North Slope near Prudhoe Bay had been completely or partially frozen as long as six months as the ice inside expanded. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aunnie Steward alleged the company should have known the pipe was frozen and that cost-cutting measures resulted in improper maintenance and monitoring.

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