LLOG Exploration agrees to $3.1 million oil leak settlement

Covington-based LLOG Exploration has reached a tentative $3.1 million settlement with the federal government over a 2017 Gulf of Mexico oil leak, reports the Insurance Journal.

The agreement, called a consent decree, was filed in federal court in New Orleans last week following the filing of a lawsuit earlier in the day.

The settlement said the company does not admit to liability in connection with the leak of about 16,000 barrels of crude oil from a site about 40 miles southeast of Venice. The suit against LLOG Exploration sought compensation for costs incurred by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in assessing the damage.

A December 2019 report by the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement attributed the oil spill to a failed connection device, known as a jumper, at an underwater well head.

The leak wasn’t detected for several hours, according to the report, which included recommendations that the industry improve leak detection methods. Read the entire story.