bp has recently agreed to pay $350 million to the state of Louisiana as the first payment in the economic settlement related to the Deepwater Horizon incident in 2015. This agreement also resolves the remaining claims related to coastal areas that Louisiana parishes had filed against bp. The signing of this agreement was conducted by Jeff Landry, the Governor of Louisiana, Elizabeth Muri, the Attorney General, and Meg O'Neill, the CEO of bp.
Details of the Agreement and Its Impact on Payments
According to the previous plan, bp was supposed to pay $373 million to Louisiana over seven years. However, this one-time payment replaces all necessary payments and includes over 20 percent of bp's overdue debts to five Gulf Coast states under the economic settlement agreement. The specific terms of the coastal claims agreement have not been disclosed.
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Meg O'Neill stated, "This agreement with Louisiana facilitates the acceleration of our commitments and provides the state with immediate access to these financial resources."
Actions of the State of Louisiana in Resolving Historical Claims
Jeff Landry, the Governor of Louisiana, noted that this agreement is part of his efforts to resolve historical claims against the oil and gas industry. He stated, "We have addressed historical claims that many believed were impossible to resolve. Now we have settled the claims and reached agreements with all but one of the main defendants in these coastal claims."
bp, with over 800 employees in Louisiana, is one of the largest producers, lessors, and investors in the Gulf of Mexico in the United States. The company's onshore unit, bpX Energy, has a strong position in the Haynesville field. The 2015 Deepwater Horizon settlements include federal, state, and local government claims resulting from the 2010 incident amounting to $18.7 billion, which will be paid over 18 years.
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