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What penalties did Transocean face for its role in the Deepwater Horizon spill?
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Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Fireboat response crews attempt to extinguish the blaze aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, April 21, 2010.
Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Transoceanāwhich owned and operated the rigāfaced significant legal and financial penalties for its role in the disaster.123
In January 2013, Transocean reached the following agreements:
- Civil Penalty: The company agreed to a $1 billion civil penalty under the Clean Water Act. Of this amount, approximately $800 million was designated for restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico, with the remainder paid to the federal government.1
- Criminal Penalty: Transocean pled guilty to criminal violations of the Clean Water Act, resulting in a $400 million penalty. This sum was divided to fund restoration projects administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), an offshore oil safety research endowment managed by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and a liability trust for future spills.1
Additionally, in May 2015, Transocean resolved claims brought by the plaintiffsā steering committee for approximately $211.7 million.1