BP told to keep paying compensation for 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill

The US Supreme Court has decided not to allow BP to suspend payments to claimants affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which the oil firm had previously contested as unfair.

The company is disappointed with the decision and said it would keep asking for a review of the way in which it manages compensation claims.

In a statement in May, the firm said, “No company would agree to pay for losses that it did not cause, and BP certainly did not when it entered into this settlement. BP will continue to fight to return the settlement to its original, explicit, and lawful purpose – the compensation of claimants who suffered actual losses due to the spill.”

BP had previously contested some of the compensation requests, which it said were unfair as businesses were claiming money despite their revenue not being directly affected by the spill.

BP spokesman Geoff Morrell said, “The lifting of the injunction suspending the payment of business economic loss claims will allow hundreds of millions of dollars to be irretrievably scattered to claimants whose losses were not plausibly caused by the Deepwater Horizon accident”.

The firm managed to get an injunction for the suspension of payments, but this was later reversed by a ruling that the terms of the original settlement between BP and local businesses are to be upheld.

The 2010 oil rig explosion killed 11 workers and spilled five million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, affecting many animal and plant species, some of which are still recovering.

Photo: Green Fire Productions via Flickr

Further reading:

BP loses legal battle over 2010 oil spill compensation limits

BP contests deepwater horizon payback scheme amid fears it could run out of money

Judge criticises BP’s attempts to block compensation payouts

US courts grants suspension to BP’s deepwater horizon payments

BP announces $3.7 billion profits for third quarter of 2013