BP Accuses Former Analyst of Stealing Trade Secrets

BP Plc has sued a former U.S. oil analyst for allegedly stealing trade secrets and other confidential information, according to court filings.

 

BP's oil trading division alleged that Joseph Giljum, a crude oil analyst who left the company in April, compiled over 950 business files containing confidential and valuable information and uploaded the files to his personal Amazon Cloud Drive.

 

Giljum did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

The British oil major said that Giljum, who was based at its Chicago office, used the information to negotiate a new job with a competitor, according to the filing late April with the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois.

 

The competitor, Mercuria, is not named in the suit.

 

BP seeks the return of its information, to block Giljum from working in another similar capacity, and other damages. BP declined to comment. Mercuria did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


(Reporting by Catherine Ngai; Editing by Andrew Hay)