Oil giant BP has agreed a settlement with contractor Cameron International, designer and manufacturer of the he blow-out preventer on the Deepwater Horizon rig.
Under the agreement, which settles all claims between the firms, Cameron will pay BP $250m, that will be added to the $20-billion trust BP set up for victims of the disaster that killed 11 workers with the rig exploded on April 20, 2010 and release over 200 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
BP used the announcement to pressure other co-defendants, namely Haliburton and Transocean, in the pending lawsuits with the victims of the disaster to fork over money to the oil giant.
“Cameron is the fourth company to settle with BP and contribute to economic and environmental restoration efforts in the Gulf,” said BP chief executive, Bob Dudley, in a statement. “Unfortunately, other companies persist in refusing to accept responsibility for their roles in the accident and for contributing to restoration efforts.”
BP has made settlements with MOEX and Andarko, the UK firm’s partners in the well, and supplier Weatherford.