Transocean agrees to pay $1.4B fine for Gulf oil spill

The Justice Department reached a $1.4 billion settlement today with Transocean Ltd., the owner of the drilling rig that sank after an explosion killed 11 workers and spawned the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The proposed settlement resolves the department’s civil and criminal probe of Transocean’s role in the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster. It requires the Switzerland-based company to pay $1 billion in civil penalties and $400 million in criminal penalties and to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of violating the Clean Water Act, according to a court filing. The deal, which is subject to a federal judge’s approval, also calls for Transocean to implement a series of operational safety and emergency response improvements on its rigs. Much of the $1.4 billion will fund environmental restoration projects and spill-prevention research and training. The company has two years to pay the $1 billion civil penalty. BP, which leased the rig from Transocean, already has agreed to pay a record $4.5 billion in penalties and to plead guilty to manslaughter and other criminal charges related to the spill. The deal with BP doesn’t resolve the federal government’s civil claims against the London-based oil company. The Associated Press has the full story here.