Southern Natural Gas has agreed to pay ARCO Oil and Gas more than $300 million for damages resulting from an explosion March 19, 1989 on an ARCO drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The blast and resulting fire occurred when subcontractors hired by SNG tried to make repairs and cut into the pipeline that transported gas to shore. Pennzoil Co. in 1984 won a $10.3 billion judgment against Texaco Inc. after claiming that Texaco had broken up its deal to buy In a statement released today, Southern said it was "pleased with this settlement," adding that "the safety of our employees is always paramount." SNG, which bought gas from ARCO, made no admission of guilt but agreed to pay $300.5 million and a total of $500,000 to three ARCO employees injured in the blast.
Southern Natural Gas has agreed to pay ARCO Oil and Gas more than $300 million for damages resulting from an explosion March 19, 1989 on an ARCO drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The blast and resulting fire occurred when subcontractors hired by SNG tried to make repairs and cut into the pipeline that transported gas to shore. In a statement released today, Southern said it was "pleased with this settlement," adding that "the safety of our employees is always paramount." SNG, which bought gas from ARCO, made no admission of guilt but agreed to pay $300.5 million and a total of $500,000 to three ARCO employees injured in the blast.