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HOUSTON, April 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Judge Carl Barbier grantedfinal approval on Monday to BP Plc's civil settlementover its 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill after it reached a dealin July 2015 to pay up to $18.7 billion in penalties to the U.S.government and five states.
The company at the time said its total pre-tax charges fromthe spill set aside for criminal and civil penalties and cleanupcosts were around $53.8 billion. (link.reuters.com/duz94w)
Under the terms of the original agreement with the U.S.Department of Justice and the Gulf Coast states, BP will pay atleast $12.8 billion for Clean Water Act fines and naturalresource damages, plus $4.9 billion to states. The payouts willbe staggered over some 16 18 years.
The rig explosion on April 20, 2010, the worst offshore oildisaster in U.S. history, killed 11 workers and spewed millionsof barrels of oil onto the shorelines of several states fornearly three months. (Reporting By Jonathan Stempel and Terry Wade)
