SETTLEMENT

Offshore Drilling Company Involved in Gulf Oil Spill Agrees to Pay $1.4 Billion Penalty

Transocean will settle to resolve Justice Department's civil and criminal probes, news reports say

Jan 3, 2013 by Lisa Fine

Staff Writer t

Image: AP

The owner of the offshore drilling rig that exploded, killing 11 workers and sending millions of barrels of crude oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, is expected to pay $1.4 billion in civil and criminal penalties to settle U.S. Justice Department investigations, news reports say.

Transocean Ltd., based in Switzerland, will pay the money to resolve the government's probe into the company's role in what was called the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history.

The company will pay $1 billion in civil penalties, $400 million in criminal penalties and will plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act. It does not include any manslaughter charges related to the 11 deaths in the explosion, Bloomberg News reports.

BP, the company that leased the rig to drill an exploratory well, agreed in November to pay $4.5 billion to settle all criminal and some civil charges related to the accident, the Wall Street Journal said.

Via Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal

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Jan '13

DARSB

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When corporate policies or practices cost workers their lives somebody needs to go to jail. It doesn't matter if it's oil rig workers or coal miners. I'd be happy with CEO's being held responsible.
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Jan '13

dances-weebles

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i'd be even happier if the settlement was high enough to force bp into an unrecoverable bankruptcy.
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Jan '13

MongoAPillager

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not sure,maybe there is no sufficent dollar tab? http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/channel.cfm... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corexit
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Jan '13

dances-weebles

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a major part of the settlement should be that there will be no more offshore drilling anywhere, of any kind.
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Jan '13

MongoAPillager

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ain't not gonna happen,i'm sure glad your wife doesn't allow you to move back : }
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Jan '13

MongoAPillager

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no more drilling,thats what they are shooting for,someday it will come out that the deepwater disaster was a black ops episode,not an accident
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Jan '13

Bobolinsky

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For Brazil too?

Obama Underwrites Offshore Drilling
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297...
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Jan '13

Thunderchicken

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If that were the case, alternative fuels may be economically viable. However as long as the technology exists to drill offshore, we should use it to our advantage. America needs cheap energy to thrive.
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Jan '13

dances-weebles

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@Thunderchicken america is already thriving... if that's what you want to call it. if you wish for it to actually improve, then they've got to develop clean fuel, rather than those that pollute.
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Jan '13

Sabio

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they shouldnt have to pay anything, it was an accident. who pays if a meteor hits a city? who pays when there are floods and tornadoes?
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Jan '13

Denizen_Kate

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Actions have consequences, but sometimes a lack of action has consequences as well. In this case, negligence on the part of both BP and the drilling company were proven. There were known safety violations. This was an accident, but one that was foreseeable and preventable.
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Post @Denizen_Kate
Jan '13

dances-weebles

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it was an accident caused by human error... most of which involves drilling for oil where they should never have been allowed to.
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Jan '13

Cheenoguy

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How are those scenarios at all similar? Negligence by the people running the rig caused people to die and and billions in damage to the environment.
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Jan '13

PayThatCEO

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Are you serious? You are comparing a man-made disaster to a meteor?

If I run over you in the mall parking lot because I didn't get my faulty brakes fixed, can I think claim it was a accident....like a meteor?
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Jan '13

Sabio

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@PayThatCEO yes you could, you did not leave the house with the intent to hurt someone.
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Jan '13

Real4WheelDrv

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you and me
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Jan '13

Chromalord

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I'd only agree to that amount if it ALL went directly for a worthy cause. But it wont.
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Jan '13

dances-weebles

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most of it will go to cover the billions of dollars in cost for the clean up of the mess. that's as worthy a cost as there is.
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Jan '13

Chromalord

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@dances-weebles no, thats not what that money is for. BP already paid 24 billion for that. This was a penalty/fine. ( and I think you meant to write worthy CAUSE)
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Jan '13

dances-weebles

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@Chromalord yeah, i probably did... it was late and i made mistake in my typing. thanks for catching it for me before i looked silly.

the 24 billion hardly began to cover it. and no... if it was a fine it didn't hurt them nearly badly enough. it should cost bp all their gasoline stations, and every other thing that they are involved in. i believe that the costs levied against them should completely bankrupt them and make it impossible for them to ever drill for oil again anywhere. if that were to happen it might even make other oil companies sit up and take notice and may curtail future off shore drilling completely.

have you been reading of the next disaster in the making in the berring straights? how stupid can people be?
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Post @dances-weebles
Jan '13

Dan_Tien

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It is a tiny fraction of the cost to the environment, to the other industries dependent on the Gulf, and to the taxpayers who will make up the difference. Just another business expense to write off.
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Jan '13

PayThatCEO

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I wonder if oil companies are insured against these kinds of "accidents".
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Jan '13

sevenSecrets

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Profit at any cost. Environment, species, air, human life....god help this country.
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Jan '13

Sillpchs

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How many more companies is the gov going to go after for the oil spill? BP paid billions also.
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Jan '13

DARSB

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BP makes a lot of noise about its $20 billion compensation fund, but not so much about it taking a $13 billion tax deduction for the money paid out from that fund.
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Jan '13

RobertJHarsh

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$1.4 billion is chump to test oil people.
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Jan '13

RobertJHarsh

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Sorry...it is chump to those oil people.
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Jan '13

KyleMFb

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They should be way charged more...than that money should be split up between all the people who lost their jobs bc of the spill they should pay to fix damages and repair polluted land and water sources also all the oil company's across the US should pay damages to all the people that they've permanently polluted their water sources but that probably won't. Ever happen bc of the most worst president. In all of American history and his Vice President thank you GW and dick chenny you'll be EFFIN us long after you dead
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Jan '13

PayThatCEO

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It's also interesting to note, that Halliburton (which supplied the cement for the oil rig) was found not guilty of the claim that BP said the cement was contaminated. Of course, in a situation like this, pointing fingers will certainly be flying, but I'm amazed at how "Teflon" Halliburton seems to be.
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Do you think this is a fair settlement?

Do you think this is a fair settlement?