BP to Get $250 Million in Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Settlement

Cameron, based in Houston, designed and manufactured the so-called blowout preventer on the rig, which failed to stop the oil from spilling. The settlement, which is BP’s fourth so far with companies that worked on some parts of the well, was not an admission of liability by either party, BP said.

The “settlement allows BP and Cameron to put our legal issues behind us and move forward to improve safety in the drilling industry,” Robert W. Dudley, the BP chief executive, said in the statement. “Unfortunately, other companies persist in refusing to accept responsibility for their roles in the accident and for contributing to restoration efforts.”

BP had already agreed to similar settlements with MOEX and Anadarko Petroleum, which had stakes in the well, and Weatherford, which made a part of the well. Those settlements amounted to a total of about $5.1 billion.

Legal fights over claims worth tens of billions of dollars continue with Transocean, which operated the rig, and Halliburton, which was responsible for cement work.

BP plans to use the cash payment from Cameron to help settle individual and government claims and pay for costs related to the oil spill.

The company had set aside about $41 billion to cover all costs related to the oil spill, including a $20 billion compensation fund. It said Friday it had already paid out about $7.5 billion to local businesses and individuals.

BP said Cameron agrees that the explosion was the result of several complex and interlinked issues and not the fault of one single company. BP said it agreed to indemnify Cameron for compensation claims resulting from the accident as part of the settlement.

There was no immediate comment from Cameron.

The explosion of the oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, killed 11 workers and resulted in a spill of nearly five million barrels of oil.

BP has continued to invest in exploration in the United States and the gulf, and in October received its first permit from United States regulators since the oil spill to drill a new well in the region.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/business/global/bp-to-get-250-million-in-gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-settlement.html?partner=rss&emc=rss