Transocean Deepwater Inc. will pay $ 1 billion in civil penalties for the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico , after a federal judge in New Orleans signed off Tuesday on the company 's deal with the Justice Department . The ruling by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier is a formality : the Justice Department and Transocean reached the deal last month . Under the agreement , Transocean will have two years to pay out the $ 1 billion in fines for violations of the Clean Water Act . According to the Justice Department , the agreement also requires Transocean to take steps to improve performance and avoid a repeat of the disaster , which began after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded nearly a mile above BP 's sea-floor Macanado well , killing 11 workers on board . The blast and ensuing fire damaged the rig and caused 4.9 million barrels of oil to leak out into the Gulf , according to a 2011 report by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling . In addition to the civil penalties , Transocean Deepwater pleaded guilty last week to a criminal violation of the Clean Water Act . U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo ordered the company to pay a $ 400 million fine , the second-largest such penalty in U.S. history . The largest was the $ 4 billion fine imposed on BP in November after the company agreed to plead guilty to felony manslaughter , environmental crimes and obstruction of Congress related to its role in the Deepwater Horizon spill . BP contracted Transocean to do the drilling and had BP officials on the rig . At the time , prosecutors said BP had a `` culture of privileging profit over prudence . '' Much of the $ 400 million Transocean fine will be used to restore and rebuild the Gulf coast region , officials have said . A separate civil trial over the spill is set to begin Monday . That suit , filed by a large group of states , individuals , businesses and the federal government , seeks compensation from BP , Transocean , Halliburton and other companies involved in the disaster for damages incurred from the spill . The trial seeks to determine the cause of the incident and how much each company should pay . Barbier will also preside over that trial . In a statement issued Tuesday , BP said the demands made by plaintiffs are `` excessive and not based on reality . '' The company will `` vigorously defend against gross negligence allegations , '' BP general counsel Rupert Bondy said . `` This was a tragic accident , resulting from multiple causes and involving multiple parties , '' he said . `` We firmly believe we were not grossly negligent . '' Transocean spokesman Lou Colasuonno said Tuesday that company is also ready for trial . `` The facts of the case are on Transocean 's side and our legal team is fully prepared to start proving that New Orleans next week , '' he said .
Judge accepts agreement between plaintiff and prosecutors on oil spill fines . Transocean will have two years to pay the $ 1 million fine . Transocean pleaded guilty last week to criminal violations of the Clean Air Act . A separate civil trial begins next week to determine the cause of the spill .