Transocean Joins Halliburton in BP Deal Resolving Macondo Claims

Transocean Joins Halliburton in BP Deal Resolving Macondo Claims

by David Wethe/Bloomberg
5:59 PM BRT
May 20, 2015

Transocean Ltd., owner of the rig that sank in the 2010 Macondo disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, joined Halliburton Co. in settling all remaining issues with BP Plc, according to a person familiar with the deal.
Transocean and BP, the well’s owner, will mutually release all claims against each other, and the London-based exploration and production company will pay the rig contractor $125 million in compensation for legal fees, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the deal had not been announced.
Transocean, based in Vernier, Switzerland, also agreed to pay $212 million to two classes of plaintiffs represented by a committee in the Macondo litigation, the person said.
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier issued a decision in September that assigned Transocean 30 percent responsibility for causing the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. BP was assigned 67 percent of the blame, while Halliburton was 3 percent liable.
Halliburton, which provided cementing services for the doomed well, said earlier it reached a settlement with BP to resolve all remaining issues with BP.
Global drilling rig data: {RTIG