Up to four former BP traders are expected to be indicted on criminal charges over their roles in an alleged scheme to manipulate the price of propane.

The indictments, from the US Department of Justice, are expected to be accompanied by an announcement that BP has agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to settle criminal and civil investigations, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The multi-million dollar settlement with market and environmental regulators may also include a separate criminal investigation into alleged safety violations relating to the Alaska oil pipeline spill.

The Journal reports that the Department of Justice and other agencies will announce the settlements and criminal indictments at a conference in Washington later today.

BP and the Department of Justice declined to comment to the Journal. BP told Times Online it does not comment on ongoing regulatory issues.

BP has already agreed to pay a $303 million fine to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over the propane market allegations.

However, the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Capitol Hill said yesterday that it had launched an inquiry into whether that settlement represented a big enough deterrent.

BP is the biggest supplier of propane in the United States, where it is used by millions of Americans to heat their homes and cook food, particularly in rural or poor communities where there is no access to an ordinary gas supply.

John Dingell, the congressional committee’s chairman, said in a statement: “We are specifically interested in determining whether the penalties levied are sufficient deterrents to improper behavior...In light of this settlement, the Energy and Commerce Committee will investigate whether government agencies acted appropriately during pricing negotiations with BP.”

In a 42-page complaint filed in a US district court in Illinois in June 2006, the CFTC alleged that “with the knowledge, advice and consent of senior management, BP employees developed and executed a speculative trading strategy in which BP cornered the February 2004 . . . physical propane market.”

It is thought that while BP has settled the civil charges made against it, it has also agreed to make certain operational changes to defer any criminal proceedings, which include being overseen by a government-appointed regulatory monitor for between three and five years.

The decision to settle the charges comes as part of a fresh approach by Tony Hayward, BP’s new chief executive, to draw to a close a miserable few years.

BP is also under investigation by American regulators for abusing its size to manipulate the price of crude oil.

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