BP Pays Louisiana $350 Million Lump Sum to Settle Deepwater Horizon Coastal Claims

BP said Friday it will pay Louisiana a single $350 million lump-sum payment to resolve claims tied to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and settle long-running coastal damage litigation brought by local parishes. Under the 2015 agreement, BP had committed up to $18.7 billion to the federal government and five states, including $4.9 billion payable over 18 years to settle state economic and other claims. Louisiana had been owed $373 million over the next seven years; it will now receive $350 million upfront. BP said remaining coastal zone lawsuits filed by Louisiana parishes will be resolved but offered no further details. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said the state has now settled with all but one of the major defendants in the coastal cases. BP (ticker: BP) announced the deal Friday. The 2010 spill stemmed from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico.