NEW ORLEANS, April 22 (UPI) -- Texas is among U.S. states that may seek additional damage payments from BP in response to the 2010 oil spill, the state attorney general said.
Saturday marked the third anniversary of the deadly accident in the Gulf of Mexico. The BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig exploded following a well blowout. That left 11 rig workers dead and led to one of the worst offshore oil spills.
Texas attorney general spokeswoman Lauren Bean said the state may seek claims against those responsible for the accident.
"Texas, along with the other Gulf Coast states and the Department of Justice, have been engaged in settlement talks for quite some time," she was quoted by Bloomberg News as saying.
The report states that lawsuits are pending from parties ranging from casino workers who say they've lost tip wages as a result of lower tourism, to real estate developers, who claim they were hurt because of waning interest in ocean-front properties.
BP last year agreed to pay $4 billion to the U.S. government in criminal penalties and another $8.5 million to settle other claims.
A civil case in New Orleans pits well operator BP against rig owner Transocean and oil services contractor Halliburton. All three parties have blamed the other for the series of events that led to the disaster.
