Halliburton to pay $1.1bn for US Gulf spill

Company reaches settlement for role in Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the largest offshore spill in US history.

Aljazeera, 02 Sep 2014

The rig that exploded in 2010 killed 11 workers and spilled 4.9 million
barrels of oil into the sea [AP]

Halliburton says it has agreed to pay $1.1bn to settle a substantial portion of claims arising from its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The settlement announced on Tuesday would be paid in three installments into a trust until appeals are resolved over the next two years. It is subject to court approval.

Halliburton was BP's cement contractor on the drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf in April 2010. The blast killed 11 workers and triggerred the largest offshore oil spill in US history with 4.9 million barrels of oil spilling into the sea.

Halliburton was responsible for the placement of "centralisers" that help stabilise the well bore during cementing. It had earlier blamed BP's decision to use only six centralisers - to save "time and money" - for the blowout.

The deal will settle claims assigned to Halliburton as a result of BP's settlement in 2012 and punitive damages from the loss of property or commercial fishing activity resulting from the oil spill.

Rig contractor Transocean, which employed nine of the workers killed, agreed to pay $1.4bn in settlement last year, while BP has paid about $28bn so far.