BP agrees to $7.8bn Gulf spill payments BP has finalised its settlement agreement with plaintiffs seeking damages over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, agreeing to payments estimated at $7.8bn. In a joint filing to the New Orleans court that has been hearing the damages case, BP and the steering committee for the plaintiffs" lawyers asked it to approve the deal, agreed in principle in March. In some cases, fishermen affected by the spill will be able to claim more than nine times their losses under the terms of the deal, although multiples of three to four times are more common, varying according to the type of business affected. BP has also agreed to allow up to $600m in fees for the plaintiffs" lawyers, in addition to payments made in the settlement. The two sides have proposed that fairness hearings for the court to review the settlement should begin on November 8. As a result, a trial of the remaining issues in the case, including the action from the US authorities for damages potentially running into tens of billions of dollars, is now not likely to begin until late this year at the earliest, and would be more likely to come next year. In their joint filing, BP and the plaintiffs said neither side would receive everything they wanted from the settlement, because BP believed some of the claims against it could fail in court, while the plaintiffs believed they could eventually win even larger awards if they went to trial. They added: "On balance, however, the agreement creates a comprehensive compensation system, and thus represents a resolution that is more than fair, reasonable and adequate." There is no set limit on the damages that the company can pay, but BP estimates the cost at $7.8bn. BP repeated its view that the payments could be met within the cost of $37.2bn that it has already set aside for the consequences of the spill. Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive, said the agreement "demonstrates BP's continued progress in resolving significant issues related to the Deepwater Horizon accident." Under the settlement, claimants will be paid the losses they suffered from the spill, plus a "risk transfer premium" intended to reflect the possibility of future losses that have not yet been recognised, other costs that have not been assessed, "inconvenience, aggravation [and] emotional distress." For fishing boat owners and captains, the risk transfer premium can go up to 8.75 times the value of their loss. Seafood processors can claim additional payments of three times their losses, and tourist businesses closest to the coast 2.5 times. In the filing, the two sides said the settlement "fully and finally resolves any and all claims for damages," and "nothing in this agreement is an admission of law or fact by any party." Another clause in the agreement assigns to the plaintiffs BP's claims for damages against Transocean, the owner and operator of the Deepwater Horizon rig, and Halliburton, the cementing contractor on the Macondo well. Reporting its first-quarter results on Wednesday, Halliburton set aside $300m for its estimated share of the costs arising from the disaster.