AUSTIN (CN) - MOEX Offshore, a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., will pay Gulf Coast states and the federal government $90 million for its part in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Texas attorney general said.
MOEX Offshore had a 10 percent interest in BP's offshore drilling vessel, the Deepwater Horizon. Texas will get $6.5 million from the $90 million settlement between MOEX, several Gulf Coast states and the federal government, according to the Texas Attorney General's Office.
"Polluters are strictly liable under these laws, with penalties based in part on the number of days of discharge and in part on the number of barrels of oil discharged," according to the settled complaint in Travis County Court. "The state thus seeks in this action the imposition of civil penalties for each day of discharge and for each barrel of oil that was discharged from the Deepwater Horizon and its appurtenances and/or the Macondo Well into or adjacent to the waters of the state."
The settlement was spelled out in a consent decree that federal prosecutors filed Friday. MOEX's settlement with Texas includes $3.25 million in civil penalties and $3.25 million to fund environmental projects along the coast.
The settlement resolves Texas's claims under the Texas Water Code and Texas Natural Resources Code.
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