Article updated: 1/4/2013 8:50 AM

Transocean’s $1.4B oil spill deal will help Gulf

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The Justice Department has reached a $1.4 billion settlement with Transocean Ltd., the owner of the drilling rig that sank after an explosion killed 11 workers and spawned the massive 2010 oil spill in the gulf. On Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, two people with knowledge of the negotiations say Switzerland-based Transocean would pay the money to resolve the department's civil and criminal probe of the company's role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

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A $1.4 billion settlement between the Justice Department and Deepwater Horizon rig owner Transocean Ltd. will pump hundreds of millions of dollars into projects designed to help the Gulf Coast recover from the nation's largest offshore oil spill. Transocean, which owned the rig that sank after an explosion killed 11 workers and spawned the 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico, agreed Thursday to pay $1 billion in civil penalties and $400 million in criminal penalties.