WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - Transocean Ltd has resolved its spat with the Obama administration over the oil drilling company's attempt to limit its liability in the Gulf of Mexico spill, according to court papers filed on Friday.
The company and the Justice Department have been arguing for weeks over Transocean's petition in federal court to limit its liability to just under $27 million over the sinking of its rig that was drilling the oil well for BP Plc.
Transocean seized on a 159-year-old law -- the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 -- to make its case. But after complaints by the Justice Department, the company told the court in Houston it did not mean to restrict claims by the U.S. government under a 1990 law on oil spills.
After haggling over legal language, Transocean filed a letter on Friday and proposed a six-page order that excluded any claims or penalties that may be sought by the Obama administration and states under federal pollution and environmental laws.
The company said it was authorized to represent to the court that the Justice Department had no opposition to the filing.
'The order accomplishes what the government sought,' a Justice Department official said.
The proposed order must be signed by the judge presiding over the case. A Transocean spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky; Editing by John O'Callaghan)
((For more spill stories, click or http://link.reuters.com/hed87k)) Keywords: OIL SPILL/TRANSOCEAN (jeremy.pelofsky@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 898 8396; jeremy.pelofsky.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The company and the Justice Department have been arguing for weeks over Transocean's petition in federal court to limit its liability to just under $27 million over the sinking of its rig that was drilling the oil well for BP Plc.
Transocean seized on a 159-year-old law -- the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 -- to make its case. But after complaints by the Justice Department, the company told the court in Houston it did not mean to restrict claims by the U.S. government under a 1990 law on oil spills.
After haggling over legal language, Transocean filed a letter on Friday and proposed a six-page order that excluded any claims or penalties that may be sought by the Obama administration and states under federal pollution and environmental laws.
The company said it was authorized to represent to the court that the Justice Department had no opposition to the filing.
'The order accomplishes what the government sought,' a Justice Department official said.
The proposed order must be signed by the judge presiding over the case. A Transocean spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky; Editing by John O'Callaghan)
((For more spill stories, click or http://link.reuters.com/hed87k)) Keywords: OIL SPILL/TRANSOCEAN (jeremy.pelofsky@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 898 8396; jeremy.pelofsky.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.