BP given right to appeal certain oil spill claims

BP has been granted the right to appeal some of the oil spill claims made against it in relation to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The decision to accept the company's plea was made by the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

Judge Fortunato Benavides released a statement which read: "Where a settlement agreement does not resolve claims itself but instead establishes a mechanism pursuant to which the district court will resolve claims, parties must expressly waive what is otherwise a right to appeal from claim determination decisions by a district court."

The oil spill happened in April 2010 on the BP-owned Transocean-operated Macondo Prospect when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and subsequently sank, resulting in oil leaking into the sea for 87 days. It was the biggest ever oil spill of its kind.

Following the disaster, BP faced numerous civil and criminal charges from those affected.