Feds, Transocean Reach $1.4B Deal Over Gulf Spill

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Justice Department has reached a $1.4 billion settlement with TransoceanLtd., the owner of the drilling rig that sank after an explosion killed 11 workers and spawned the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Two people with knowledge of the negotiations say Switzerland-based Transoceanwould pay the money to resolve the department's civil and criminal probe of the company's role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the settlement hadn't been announced publicly, though that announcement was expected later Thursday.

BP PLC, which leased the rig from Transocean, already has agreed to pay a record $4.5 billion in penalties and plead guilty to manslaughter and other criminal charges related to the spill. The deal with BP doesn't resolve the federal government's civil claims against the London-based oil company.