BP to receive $250m oil spill settlement from Cameron Intl

US-listed oil and gas equipment firm Cameron International Corporation, the company which designed and manufactured the Deepwater Horizon 'blowout preventer', is to pay UK oil titan BP $250m to settle all claims between them related to last year's oil disaster.

"Today's settlement allows BP and Cameron to put our legal issues behind us and move forward to improve drilling in the safety industry," said BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley.

The settlement will by applied to the $20bn trust BP created to deal with claims and costs arising from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010.

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Following this, both companies have agreed to drop all claims against each other. However, the agreement "is not an admission of liability by either party", BP said.

Separately, BP has agreed to indemnify Cameron for compensatory claims resulting from the accident, the details of which are not known. BP said that these claims include those relating to pollution damage and damage to natural resources, but do not include "civil, criminal or administrative fines and penalties, claims for punitive damages, and certain other claims".

"Cameron is the fourth company to settle with BP and contribute to economic and environmental restoration efforts in the Gulf. Unfortunately, other companies persist in refusing to accept responsibility for their roles in the accident and for contributing to restoration efforts," Dudley added.

Cameron has said that its insurers will cover at least $170m of the BP settlement, and the rest will be realised as a one-off charge in the fourth quarter.

BC