Halliburton Co. is negotiating a settlement of legal claims related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible drilling rig explosion following a blowout of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico Macondo well off Louisiana, the company said.
The Apr. 20, 2010, blowout and fire killed 11 people on the Deepwater Horizon semi, which was owned by Transocean Ltd.
The semi later sank after drilling the deepwater well on behalf of BP PLC and its partners. Halliburton provided performing cementing services (OGJ Online, Sept. 2, 2011).
On Apr. 22 while discussing earnings, Halliburton executives said they added $1 billion, or $637 million after taxes, to financial reserves related to Macondo litigation. The $637 million is in addition to a $300 million pretax reserve already set aside for Macondo litigation.
“We are pursuing these settlement discussions,” Halliburton Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dave Lesar said regarding civil claims with gulf businesses and individuals. He refused to discuss any specifics.
Halliburton noted that the reserve estimate excludes any amount that the company might recover from insurance.