Transocean Ltd has agreed to pay $1.4 billion (€1.06 billion) to settle US government charges arising from BP Plc's massive 2010 Macondo oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The settlement unveiled by the Department of Justice includes $1 billion (€763 million) in civil penalties and $400 million (€305 million) in criminal penalties.
The company had set aside a total of $1.95 billion (€1.49) in potential losses related to Macondo, including $1.5 billion (€1.14 billion) for its anticipated settlement with the Department of Justice.
Shares of Transocean were up 7 per cent at $49.50 on midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.1 per cent.
"The bottom line to me is they now can put away the big black cloud that has been hanging over them," said Phil Weiss, an oil analyst at Argus.
"I take this as a positive, even if the number is a little higher than I expected."
Switzerland-based Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon rig that was drilling a mile-deep well when a surge of methane gas sparked an explosion on April 20th, 2010.
The explosion killed 11 men and led to one of the largest environmental disasters in US history.