The owner of the Deepwater Horizon oil-drilling rig that blew up in 2010 and dumped millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico agreed to pay a $1.4 billion fine.
Transocean Ltd. will pay $400 million in criminal penalties and a $1 billion civil fine, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday.
The rig explosion, which took place on April 20, 2010, also killed 11 workers. British Petroleum leased the rig and reached a settlement with the U.S. government worth around $4.5 billion late last year.
“This resolution of criminal allegations and civil claims against Transocean brings us one significant step closer to justice for the human, environmental and economic devastation wrought by the Deepwater Horizon disaster,” said Attorney General Eric Holder in a statement on the DOJ website.
Transocean, in a news release, said that the agreement to pay the fine is “in the best interest of its shareholders and employees.”
The DOJ has also said it would not pursue further legal action against Transocean over the Deepwater Horizon accident, according to Transocean.
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