U.S. judge approves Transocean civil spill settlement

(Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday gave final approval to Transocean's $1 billion civil settlement related to BP Plc's massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier signed the agreement, according to the court document filed in federal court in New Orleans.

Transocean, which employed nine of the 11 workers killed in the accident, reached a $1.4 billion agreement to settle criminal and civil charges with the U.S. government in January.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo accepted Transocean's guilty plea for violating the U.S. Clean Water Act along with a $400 million criminal fine for its role in the disaster at BP's Macondo well.

Transocean must still seek a settlement with the plaintiffs committee representing more than 100,000 individuals and business owners claiming economic and medical damages, so the ultimate cost of Macondo to Transocean could end up being higher.

BP is slated to go to trial in federal court in New Orleans on Monday on civil claims stemming from the spill.

(Reporting By Anna Driver; Editing by Brtnard Orr)