By Nolan Mckendry | The Center Square
(The Center Square) — Louisiana has agreed to accept approximately $350 million from BP rather than collect $373 million over the next seven years, trading $23 million in future payments for immediate access to the remaining money owed under the Deepwater Horizon economic damages settlement.
The agreement, announced Friday, also resolves BP’s remaining coastal damage lawsuits involving Louisiana parishes, ending years of litigation against one of the state’s largest oil and gas companies.
Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill signed the agreement with BP CEO Meg O’Neill.
Under the original 2015 settlement, BP was obligated to make equal annual payments totaling $373 million over the next seven years, without interest. The new agreement consolidates those payments into a single lump sum of approximately $350 million.
The payment reduction is separate from the agreement’s other major component: the resolution of BP’s remaining coastal zone lawsuits.
Those lawsuits, brought by Louisiana parishes, accuse oil and gas companies of damaging coastal wetlands through decades of drilling, dredging and other operations in violation of state coastal protection laws.
BP has said the litigation settlement terms are confidential. The announcement did not identify which parishes would receive compensation, whether BP agreed to finance coastal restoration or what legal obligations the company would be released from.
Landry portrayed the agreement as a victory for Louisiana’s business climate, arguing that longstanding litigation has discouraged investment in the state’s energy industry.
“We have tackled legacy lawsuits, which many said was impossible,” Landry said. “We have now disposed of claims and settled with all but one of the major defendants in these coastal cases.”
Murrill similarly praised the agreement, saying resolving past disputes would help establish a more stable relationship with BP.
The settlement stems from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, which killed 11 workers and caused one of the largest offshore oil spills in U.S. history.
In 2015, BP agreed to pay up to $18.7 billion to resolve federal, state and local government claims arising from the disaster. That included $4.9 billion in payments to five Gulf Coast states over 18 years. The settlement received federal court approval in April 2016.
BP said its agreement with Louisiana accounts for more than 20% of its remaining economic damages payment obligations to those states.
The company remains a major economic presence in Louisiana, reporting $590 million in spending with Louisiana vendors and more than $280 million in royalties and taxes paid to the state in 2025.