THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: BP has agreed to pay $7.8bn (£4.9bn) to American businesses hit by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in an eleventh-hour deal that's likely to be welcomed in the City of London on Monday.
The UK oil company will pay damages to the thousands of hoteliers, shrimpers and oystermen along the Gulf Coast who were caught up in America's worst oil spill. The settlement follows a week of intense talks in New Orleans between lawyers for the local businesses and BP's legal team.
Following the agreement, US District Judge Carl Barbier delayed for a second time the trial into who should shoulder the blame for the explosion that killed 11 people and injured many more in April 2010. The trial had been rescheduled to start tomorrow after Judge Barbier had given BP another week to find a deal.
"The proposed settlement represents significant progress toward resolving issues from the accident and contributing further to economic and environmental restoration efforts along the Gulf Coast," said Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive. » | Richard Blackden, New York | Saturday, March 03, 2012
