BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 24. British energy
major bp has reached an agreement with the U.S. state of Louisiana
to accelerate payments under the settlement of economic damages
stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and resolve
remaining coastal zone litigation, bp said on October 23.


Under the agreement signed by Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry,
Attorney General Liz Murrill and bp CEO Meg O’Neill, the company
will make a single payment of approximately $350 million to the
state, bringing forward its remaining obligations under the 2015
Economic Damages Settlement.


The payment replaces $373 million that bp had been scheduled to
pay in equal installments, without interest, over the next seven
years. The agreement provides Louisiana with earlier access to the
funds while resolving the remaining coastal zone lawsuits brought
by Louisiana parishes to which bp is a party.


“This agreement with Louisiana accelerates the delivery of our
commitments and provides the state with access to these funds now,”
O’Neill said.


She also recalled the 11 people who died in the Deepwater
Horizon disaster and the impact on their families, Gulf Coast
communities and the environment, adding that lessons from the
tragedy continue to guide bp’s operations.


Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said the agreement was another
step toward resolving longstanding litigation affecting the state’s
oil and gas industry and creating a more stable environment for
investment and job creation.


Attorney General Liz Murrill said resolving legacy disputes
would support a more stable energy supply and strengthen
cooperation between the state and the company.







Orlando Alvarez, chairman and president of bp America, said
Louisiana was home to more than 800 bp employees and remained
central to the company’s US operations, including its activities in
the Haynesville region and the Gulf of America.


In 2025, bp spent $590 million with Louisiana-based vendors and
paid more than $280 million in royalties, property taxes and
franchise taxes in the state.


The company is one of the largest producers, leaseholders and
investors in the Gulf of America and maintains a significant
position in the Haynesville through its subsidiary bpx energy.


In 2015, bp reached agreements to settle federal, state and
local government claims arising from the disaster for up to $18.7
billion. A federal court approved the settlement in April 2016,
with payments scheduled over 18 years.


Of that amount, $4.9 billion was allocated over 18 years to
settle economic and other claims brought by the five Gulf Coast
states. The Louisiana agreement accounts for more than 20% of bp’s
outstanding payments to those states under the Economic Damages
Settlement.


On April 20, 2010, the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon,
operating in the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of America, exploded
and sank resulting in the death of 11 workers on the Deepwater
Horizon and the largest spill of oil in the history of marine oil
drilling operations. Four million barrels of oil flowed from the
damaged Macondo well over an 87-day period, before it was finally
capped on July 15, 2010. On December 15, 2010, the United States
filed a complaint in District Court against BP Exploration &
Production and several other defendants alleged to be responsible
for the spill.