Friday 3 June 2016

BP to pay investors $175m over oil spill claims

BP has agreed to pay out $175 million (£121.5m) to its shareholders over claims the oil giant misled them about the severity of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.

The Deepwater Horizon rig explosion spewed millions of barrels of oil onto the shorelines of several states and killed 11 workers.

The settlement relates to investors who bought BP’s US-listed shares after the explosion but before the full scale of the spill had become apparent and therefore sued the company for the losses they suffered.

They had sought a settlement of $2.5 billion (£1.7m).

The amount agreed by the oil giant will be paid in 2016/17, subject to approval by the court.

BP stated: “This settlement does not resolve other securities-related litigation in connection with the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.”

Earlier this year, a federal judge in New Orleans gave final approval to around $20 billion of (£13.8bn) settlement, which included the Clean Water Act penalties and covered environmental damage as well as claims made by states and local governments.