Fireboats pour water on the flames of the Deepwater Horizon drilling structure on April 21, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven crew members on the rig died in the offshore drilling disaster that coated the Gulf Coast with oil from the resulting underwater leak. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)
Louisiana has agreed to a lump-sum payment for the remainder of what BP owes from the Deepwater Horizon disaster settlement. It will also bring to an end the remaining lawsuits that parishes have brought against the company for related coastal damages, according to a news release BP issued Friday.
More than $6 billion was directed to Louisiana in the settlement for the 2010 offshore oil rig explosion that killed 11 workers and leaked 168 million gallons of crude oil, sullying a large swath of the Gulf Coast. All but $373 million has been paid to the state, with payments scheduled over the next seven years.
BP said Louisiana will take a single $350 million payout, and the remaining lawsuits against the company will be “resolved,” according to the news release.
Paul Takahashi, a BP spokesman, said in response to emailed questions that terms of BP’s coastal litigation agreement are confidential, and that it “resolves all outstanding coastal zone lawsuits and similar claims against BP by the parishes and State of Louisiana.”
The Deepwater Horizon settlement deal announced Friday represents a “resetting the relationship between BP and Louisiana so both can focus on the future,” the company’s news release said.
Statements from the Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill were included in the BP news release. Neither of their offices responded immediately to questions seeking more details on the agreement. Both have traveled to Paris for the New Orleans Saints game Sunday.
“We have tackled legacy lawsuits, which many said was impossible,” Landry’s quote reads, in part. “We have now disposed of claims and settled with all but one of the major defendants in these coastal cases. This sends a signal to job creators all over America that Louisiana welcomes jobs and economic growth while responsibly dealing with the issues of the past.”
“Louisiana has been a leader in defending, building and protecting energy security nationally and internationally,” Murrill said. “I’m grateful to join Governor Landry and BP America as we build a stable energy supply. Resolving issues of the past paves our way to a brighter future working relationship.”
The agreement with BP is separate from the settlements Landry has previously brokered to end so-called legacy lawsuits parishes have brought against Shell, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Hillcorp and Freeport-McMoRan for decades of marsh and wetlands damage from energy exploration.
The lone active major case involves Chevron in Plaquemines Parish, which a state court awarded $745 million in damages in March 2025. Chevron has asked the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to move the case to federal court, where the company anticipates a more favorable ruling.
This is a developing story.
