Settlement reached in 2010 Gulf oil spill
NEW ORLEANS – A committee of lawyers representing businesses and individuals who claim damages from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill announced a $211 million settlement Wednesday with Transocean Ltd., owner of the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.
BP leased the rig from Transocean. The April 2010 explosion of the rig killed 11 workers and sent oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days.
Court rulings have put the brunt of responsibility for the disaster on BP. But Transocean and Houston-based cement contractor Halliburton also were found to have some responsibility.
Halliburton reached a $1 billion settlement with plaintiffs last year.
Notice of the preliminary settlement agreement has not yet been filed in federal court in New Orleans, where U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier presides over the oil spill cases.
Associated Press
