BP Prudhoe Bay enters $29.5M settlement

BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust said May 12 it entered into a $29.5 million settlement agreement with BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., a unit of British oil company BP PLC.

BP Exploration will pay the $29.5 million to the trust.

The settlement, signed May 8, is related to the temporary shutdown of the Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska following oil spills on March 2, 2006, and Aug. 6, 2006, BP Prudhoe said.

Shares of BP Prudhoe Bay rose 68 cents to $70.50 in after-hours trading following the announcement of the settlement. The stock had closed up 45 cents at $69.82 in the regular session before the announcement

—The Associated Press

Editor’s note: The state and federal governments are seeking multimillion-dollar fines from BP related to these 2006 spills (see story in April 5, 2009, issue of Petroleum News at www.petroleumnews.com/pnads/212773290.shtml).