Transocean Pays $1.4bn Oil Spill Fine

Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, has agreed to a settlement with the United States government.

According to The Tide Source the Swiss-based company will pay $400m (£248m) in criminal penalties and a $1bn civil fine after pleading guilty to violating the Clean Water Act.

The rig, which was leased by BP, exploded on 20 April 2010, killing 11 workers.

The oil spill damaged the Gulf of Mexico coast causing one of the biggest environmental disasters in US history.

“Transocean’s rig crew accepted the direction of BP well site leaders to proceed in the face of clear danger signs at a tragic cost to many of them,” said assistant attorney general Lanny Breuer.

In November, BP agreed a settlement with the US government worth $4.5bn, including a $1.26bn criminal fine.

It has spent $14bn on cleaning up the oil spill and compensating local people.

A report from the US Chemical Safety Board in July 2012 criticised both BP and Transocean for having inadequate safety rules.

The two companies disagreed about who was in charge of interpreting a negative pressure test that could have warned workers of the problems.