$20bn settlement for BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier's earlier ruling had said that BP had been 'grossly negligent'.
A federal judge has granted final approval to an estimated $20bn settlement over the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The settlement includes $5.5bn in civil Clean Water Act penalties and billions more to cover environmental damage and other claims by the five Gulf states and local governments. The money is to be paid out over a 16-year period.
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier's earlier ruling had said that BP had been "grossly negligent" in the offshore rig explosion that killed 11 workers and caused a 134-million-gallon spill.