The Legacy of the Gulf Oil Spill
Rhonda Moniz
February 22, 2012
It is estimated that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that took place in April of 2010 could have an $8.7 billion dollar impact on the Gulf of Mexico. The losses include revenue, profits and wages, as well as job losses. MOEX Offshore has now agreed to a $90 M partial settlement of liability with $45M going to the Gulf of Mexico in the form of penalties and expedited environmental projects. According to the terms of the settlement, MOEX will pay $70M in civil penalties to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act resulting from the spill and agreed to spend $20M to facilitate land acquisition projects in several Gulf states that will preserve and protect in perpetuity habitat and resources important to water quality and other environmental features of the Gulf of Mexico region.