Halliburton to Pay US$1.1 billion for Oil Spill

The top U.S. oilfield services provider Halliburton agreed to pay a US$1.1 billion fine for it’s role in the British Petroleum (BP) 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The settlement put an end to a class action lawsuit against the company. The money, to be paid in three installments over the next two years, will be used to compensate local residents, businesses and fisheries.

The Deepwater horizon well blowout and rig explosion in April 2010 killed 11 people and spilled 4.9 millions of barrels of oil for 87 days after the blast. Halliburton was responsible for laying the foundation of the well.

The settlement for the oil spill, the worst in the history of the United States is subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Halliburton said on Tuesday.

Early this year, a Halliburton employee was sentenced to one year in probation for destroying evidence in the oil spill aftermath.

Transocean, owner of the oil platform, agreed last year to pay US$1.4 billion to settle U.S. government charges for its role in the disaster. BP, which also faces potential fines under the Clean Water Act in the United States, has so far paid about US$28 billion.