Anadarko Petroleum ordered to pay fine over 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster

Anadarko Petroleum Corp has been ordered by a US court to pay a $159.5m civil fine due to its stake in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig which exploded causing 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster.

US District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans said Anadarko was not at fault for the spill but its 25% ownership in the Macondo well made it part of the “polluting enterprise” responsible for the rig explosion that killed 11 workers.

The fine equates to $50 per barrel of oil spilled, which is lower than the maximum $1,100 per barrel that the company could have been charged under the Clean Water Act.

The penalty "strikes the appropriate balance between Anadarko's lack of culpability and the extreme seriousness of this spill," Barbier wrote in a 34-page decision.

Anadarko shares were up 0.27% to $60.08 each in New York at 17:29 GMT on Tuesday.