Awwal 18, 1432 H / April 22, 2011, SPA -- BP (British Petroleum) has agreed to provide $1 billion for projects along the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico to restore natural resources damaged by last year's massive oil spill, the company and the U.S. Justice Department said Thursday. The department said the agreement, the biggest of its kind, represented a first step in fulfilling BP's obligation to fund a complete restoration of harmed public resources, like rebuilding coastal marshes and replenishing damaged beaches. Other initial projects to be funded will restore barrier islands and wetlands and conserve areas for ocean habitat. The deal came one day after the first anniversary of the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, which began when an explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon drilling rig killed 11 workers and released almost 5 million barrels of oil into the gulf, fouling the shorelines of four U.S. states. The Justice Department said the agreement does not affect BP's ultimate liability or any other company for environmental damages, but allows restoration projects to begin sooner. BP said the agreement will accelerate work starting this year to restore areas harmed by the oil spill. "Our voluntary commitment to that process is the best way to get restoration projects moving as soon as possible," said BP America chairman Lamar McKay. BP has estimated the full cost of the disaster at $42 billion, and earlier on Thursday launched lawsuits against three of its partners for damages.
