Alabama, a southeastern U.S. state, has agreed to a settlement with Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Inc., which owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig destroyed in the catastrophic explosion and fire which occurred in April 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico.
In the explosion, 11 men aboard were killed and more than 3 million barrels of oil were spilled into the Gulf of Mexico over a period of nearly three months.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley said Thursday that, according to the settlement, Alabama would receive $20 million.
“The State of Alabama suffered tremendous environmental and economic losses because of the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010,” Governor Bentley said.
“I appreciate the entire Alabama team for working to ensure Alabama is fairly compensated. This agreement with Transocean is another positive step forward as we continue to recover from the effects of such a significant environmental and economic disaster.”
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig owned by Transocean and used by the UK oil and gas major BP, experienced a well destabilization that ultimately led to the catastrophic explosion. As a result, Alabama’s Gulf Coast and the surrounding area experienced significant environmental and economic damages, as did the State of Alabama, Governor Bentley said.
Earlier this year, an agreement in principle was reached with BP that resulted in an agreement to pay the State of Alabama $2.3 billion, with $1.3 billion going directly to the Gulf Coast region and $1 billion to be paid to the state.
According to the governor’s press release, the Transocean settlement will go into the State General Fund.
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