LONDON -(Dow Jones)- BP PLC's (BP) Chief Executive Bob Dudley says the company is prepared for the legal case over the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster to last until 2014, reports the U.K. newspaper The Telegraph Sunday.

If BP is found guilty of gross negligence--a claim the company denies--it could face fines of well above $40 billion (GBP25 billion), says the report.

The company wasn't available for immediate comment.

Newspaper website: www.telegraph.co.uk

-By Neena Rai, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9450; neena.rai@dowjones.com