BP settles oil spill-related claims with Halliburton, Transocean by Reuters, May 21, 2015
BP still faces a potential fine of up to $13.7-billion (U.S.) under the U.S. Clean Water Act. Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon rig, had settled its Clean Water Act liability for $1-billion. The U.S. government never sued Halliburton under the Act, one person familiar with the case said.
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Transocean said BP would pay the company $125-million in compensation for legal fees it incurred, adding the companies will mutually release all claims against each other. The company added BP will also discontinue its attempts to recover as an “additional insured” under Transocean’s liability policies that will accelerate the company’s recovery of about $538-million in insurance claims.
Transocean also said it would pay about $212-million to a fund set up to pay out claims to people and businesses harmed by the spill, subject to the approval by U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. “We applaud Transocean for adding to the settlement funds established in the Halliburton settlement to help compensate people and businesses for their losses,” said co-lead plaintiffs’ attorneys, Stephen Herman and James Roy.
Transocean said it intends to make the payments using cash on hand.
In September, a U.S. judge ruled that BP was mostly at fault and that Transocean and Halliburton were not as much to blame. [Emphasis added]