Halliburton to Pay $1.1 Billion to Settle Damages in Gulf Oil Spill

"Halliburton, the company contracted by BP to cement the ill-fated Macondo oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, has reached a $1.1 billion settlement with thousands of businesses, individuals and local governments that suffered losses from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, the company and plaintiffs announced on Tuesday.

The settlement represents a small fraction of the damages paid out by the companies involved in the accident, which left 11 workers dead, spilled millions of gallons of oil into the gulf and soiled hundreds of miles of beaches. But it goes a long way toward resolving Halliburton’s exposure to liability claims.

Had the cement Halliburton mixed and applied to the well been sturdy enough, the worst offshore oil spill in American history would probably not have occurred, according to several studies of the accident. Four years after the disaster, Halliburton and BP continue to dispute which company was responsible for the faulty cement job."

Clifford Krauss reports for the New York Times September 2, 2014.