BP plans to restart deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico this summer a year after the fatal Deepwater Horizon rig explosion triggered the worst oil spill in history.

US regulators have given the firm approval to start work on 10 wells in the Gulf that were halted by a moratorium on drilling imposed after the spill, according to the Sunday Times. BP declined to comment.

The move is likely to fuel public anger and comes days after it emerged that the US justice department is considering manslaughter charges after the devastating oil spill, which killed 11 workers and caused an environmental crisis. Drilling could start as early as July, less than 15 months after the disaster.

BP is spending about $41bn (£25bn) on cleaning up the spill and to cover damages. Investigations into the spill continue with the US authorities examining testimony from Tony Hayward, the former chief executive, and others as they consider bringing legal action.

Last week the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) announced it had given permits for the drilling of eight deepwater wells since February 17 this year and the imposition of "rigorous new safety standards implemented in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill".

Michael Bromwich, BOEMRE director, said: "The progress in permitting deepwater drilling is directly related to industry's ability to meet and satisfy the enhanced safety requirements associated with deepwater drilling, including the capability to contain a deepwater loss of well control and blowout."

The BP wells are likely to be existing wells reopened for production and not exploratory rigs like Deepwater. The company is expected to seek approval to start exploratory drilling later in the year. BP is believed to have promised to meet very strict safety standards as part of negotiations, including 24-hour access by the US government.

The accident, which released almost 5bn barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, was the largest marine spill in history. Charlie Kronick, a spokesman for Greenpeace, called the news "a poke in the eye not only to the environment but to investors". He told msnbc.com: "It has been a year now and 80% of that oil is still somewhere in the sea. There is nothing different about the situation now other than regulators may keep a slightly beadier eye on operations."

Last week it emerged that Transocean, the firm that operated the Deepwater rig, had awarded millions of dollars in bonuses to its executives after "the best year in safety performance in our company's history", according to a regulatory filing.

"Notwithstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record as measured by our total recordable incident rate and total potential severity rate," Transocean states in the filing. "As measured by these standards, we recorded the best year in safety performance in our company's history, which is a reflection on our commitment to achieving an incident free environment, all the time, everywhere."