Halliburton Agrees To Pay $1.1 Billion To Avoid Future Claims
Halliburton Co. has reached a settlement in U.S. District Court in New Orleans to pay $1.1 billion to resolve most of the claims against it arising from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in a deal the company says could save it billions in future claims.
The settlement, announced Sept. 2, must be approved by a federal court.
The Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the Louisiana coast was drilling for oil at the Macondo oil field on April 20, 2010 when it blew up, killing 11 workers. It spilled 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, according to U.S. government estimates.
Halliburton, an oilfield services company, was responsible for cementing services for the drilling operation.
The decision eliminates much of the uncertainty that Halliburton has faced since the spill as investors awaited the outcome of the court action.
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who is overseeing the case, is expected to rule soon on how much blame each company carries for the disaster.
The settlement avoids that by resolving both punitive and compensatory liability in most lawsuits from private plaintiffs and local governments. Not only are Halliburton’s investors pleased by the settlement, so are the plaintiffs’ lawyers.
Source: oilpricecom
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