Blow-out firm pays BP £160m for Gulf oil spill

BP will receive a $250m (£161m) payment from Cameron International, a contractor on the Macondo well, in settlement of their dispute over liability for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Cameron made the blow-out preventer which proved ineffective on the Deepwater Horizon rig. This is the fourth settlement BP has made with a partner in the project.

Analysts said the settlement will now pile pressure on Halliburton and Transocean to settle billions of dollars of claims and counter-claims with BP.

Richard Griffith, an analyst at Evolution Securities, said: "Although the figure is relatively modest ... it is an acknowledgement from another party that the accident was multi-faceted with multiple partners to share the blame. This adds further weight to the case against Halliburton and Transocean, although given the scale of the claims against them they are likely to go on resisting a settlement," Mr Griffith added.

The deal comes after a $4bn payment from Anadarko Petroleum, a $1bn contribution from Moex Offshore and a settlement with Weatherford, the maker of the well's "float collar".

Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive, said: "This settlement allows BP and Cameron to put our legal issues behind us. Unfortunately, other companies persist in refusing to accept responsibility for their roles in the accident."

BP stressed the "agreement is not an admission of liability by either party".