BP gets $250 million from Gulf of Mexico subcontractor

British energy giant BP said on Friday it will receive $250 million (£161 million) from a subcontractor on the Gulf of Mexico oil well which blew out last year, using the money to cover its massive clean-up costs.

BP said it reached agreement with Cameron International Corp., the designer and manufacturer of the Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer, to settle all claims between them over the accident and spill.

Both parties "concluded that the settlement is in their mutual best interests and the agreement is not an admission of liability by either party," it said.

An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20, 2010 killed 11 people while the well gushed oil into the ocean for 87 days, blackening the southern US shoreline and crippling the local tourism and fishing sectors.

BP said it will add the $250 million to the $20 billion trust it has set up to meet "individual, business and government claims, as well as the cost of the natural resource damages."

"Today's settlement allows BP and Cameron to put our legal issues behind us and move forward to improve drilling in the safety industry," Bob Dudley, BP group chief executive, said.

"Cameron is the fourth company to settle with BP and contribute to economic and environmental restoration efforts in the Gulf. Unfortunately, other companies persist in refusing to accept responsibility for their roles in the accident and for contributing to restoration efforts."