$211 million settlement reached with Transocean in 2010 oil spill

A committee of lawyers representing businesses and individuals who claim damages from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill have announced a $211 million settlement with Transocean Ltd., owner of the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.

BP leased the rig from Transocean. The April 2010 explosion of the rig killed 11 workers and sent oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days.

Court rulings have put the brunt of responsibility for the disaster on BP. But Transocean and Houston-based cement contractor Halliburton also were found to have some responsibility.

Halliburton reached a $1 billion settlement with plaintiffs last year.

Notice of the preliminary settlement agreement has not yet been filed in federal court in New Orleans, where US District Judge Carl Barbier presides over the oil spill cases.

A release from the Plaintiffs Steering Committee said the settlement, announced yesterday, is worth nearly $211.8 million.

The settlement will involve two classes of businesses and individuals. One class is already part of a settlement BP reached with plaintiffs in the case in 2012. The other is a new "punitive damages class" that for various reasons was not included in the BP settlement, perhaps because its members opted out or because they were not deemed by the courts to be eligible.

BP spokesman Geoff Morrell issued a statement yesterday evening saying the company was pleased that the settlement had been reached.