Gulf of Mexico oil spill: Drill contractor donates bonuses

Executives at the offshore drilling contractor at the centre of last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill are donating bonuses they got for the company’s safety record last year.

The decision comes just days after Transocean Ltd disclosed the bonuses deep in filed regulatory documents, triggering intense criticism.

Transocean justified the bonuses by calling 2010 an “exemplary” year for safety – despite the explosion on its rig that killed 11 people and spilled 200 million gallons of oil.

Chief executive officer Steven Newman and four other executives are now donating bonuses worth more than $250,000 (€175,000) to a fund set up by Transocean for the victims’ families.

Mr Newman says it was never the executives’ intent to diminish the effect the disaster has had on those who lost loved ones.