Transocean Ltd. received the approval from the court for its $1 billion settlement with the United States in connection to the pollution claims from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil-rig explosion that caused the largest offshore spill in the nation. Transocean said that it would pay $1.4 billion to settle federal claims that it violated the US Clean Water Act. The amount included a $400 million criminal penalty imposed on the company. US District Judge Carl Barbier, who is in charge of the lawsuits connected to the oil spill, approved the $1 billion civil liability.
Transocean was the operator and owner of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that burned and sank to the bottom of the ocean in April 2010 after BP’s Macondo well exploded. The United States sued the company in 2010. The US claimed that it violated pollution law. As part of the agreement with the US, the company must create a technology innovation group to focus on drilling safety. The company was tasked to set aside at least $10 million for the undertaking.
The explosion onboard the Deepwater Horizon resulted in the deaths of 11 workers. It spilled more than 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The accident led to hundreds of lawsuits against Transocean, BP and Haliburton, which provided the cement for the project.
Transocean pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of violating the Clean Water Act and agreed to pay $400 million in criminal fines. US District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo approved to a plea in federal court in New Orleans.
BP pleaded guilty to 14 charges made against the company, including 12 felonies. It agreed to pay $4 billion in criminal penalties and fines. It also settled for $525 million to a claim made by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it underestimated the size of the spill.
