BP unit has agreed to pay $25m in civil penalties to settle a federal investigation over two major oil spills in Alaska, US, in 2006.

The penalty has been levied for spilling more than 5,000 barrels of crude oil from the company’s pipelines on the North Slope of Alaska in March 2006.

A second incident where 24 barrels of crude oil was spilled, occured in August the same year.

The unit BP Exploration Alaska has also agreed to implement a system-wide pipeline integrity management program estimated at $60m over three years.

BP also already spent $200m to replace the lines that leaked on the North Slope.

EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance assistant administrator Cynthia Giles said that settlement requires the company to prevent future pipeline oil spills on the Alaska North Slope.

"The Clean Water Act gives the U.S. authority to assess higher penalties when oil spills are the result of gross negligence, and this case sends a message that we intend to use that authority and to insist that BP Alaska and other companies act responsibly to prevent pipeline oil spills." Giles said.