The administrator of economic loss claims resulting from the 2010 BP oil spill says he expects about $520 million in seafood industry claims to be paid in the Gulf of Mexico states as early as next month.
Patrick Juneau tells The Associated Press the disbursements will essentially close out the $2.3 billion seafood compensation program arising from the spill.
Juneau administers payments from a 2012 settlement BP reached with people and businesses that claimed economic harm after the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, which killed 11 workers and spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf.
The seafood claims are part of a more than $9 billion in settlement money approved so far. BP and plaintiff lawyers in 2012 announced the business and economic claims settlement with great fanfare, but legal fights soon followed over the way the agreement was being interpreted and how damages were calculated.
Those fights are over and BP also reached a $20 billion settlement, approved by a federal judge this year, over economic and environmental damage with the five Gulf states and the federal government. Overall, BP has projected its total costs related to the spill will be $61.6 billion, including various settlements, penalties, cleanup and restoration response to the spill.
Juneau says the seafood industry disbursements should be an economic boon to the Gulf region. Reaction among people in the seafood business varied Thursday.
