The project, which runs from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey, has apparently cost the British taxpayers around US$111.4 million.

According to the paper, which did not reveal its sources, “MPs could demand an independent audit, thereby delaying construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. This would leave BP facing a large repair bill and financial penalties under its loan agreements with various parties, including the World Bank.”

“Internal reports show BP is suppressing the fact that a row has erupted between its own staff over the cover-up [and] the oil giant is withholding evidence, including confidential laboratory results that cast serious doubt on the project’s long-term safety and a secret plan to bury the 1,000-mile oil pipeline without fully testing it for leaks,” it added.

BP has yet to issue a statement on the matter.