BP to pay investors $175M in spill suit

BP announced June 3 that it has agreed to pay $175 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by investors who accused the oil giant of misleading them about the rate of oil flowing after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

In a brief statement, BP said it will pay the investors over this year and next year. U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison in Houston still needs to approve the deal.

BP said the agreement doesn’t resolve other securities-related litigation relating to the disaster, which killed 11 workers and poured millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf for 87 days.

The lawsuit said BP’s low estimates of the rate of oil spewing into the Gulf inflated securities prices. It also accused BP of misrepresenting its safety procedures before the spill.

The lawsuit dealt with purchases of BP American Depositary Shares between Nov. 8, 2007, and May 28, 2010.

- Associated Press