BP to pay U.S. authorities $18.7 bln for 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill: DOJ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - BP Plc has reached a settlement with U.S. authorities and will pay about $18.7 billion in damages for water pollution caused by the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday. The agreement settles claims against BP by the U.S. federal government and the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and Florida. It is the largest settlement with a single entity in U.S. history, the department said. The April 20, 2010, rig explosion and spill killed 11 workers and spewed oil for nearly three months onto the shorelines of several states. (Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Emily Stephenson)