Murphy Oil Reports More Than $50 Million In Payouts

El Dorado-based Murphy Oil told a federal judge that it has paid more than $50 million in claims since a massive oil spill at a Louisiana refinery caused by Hurricane Katrina.

In addition, the company said during a federal court hearing at New Orleans, Murphy has spent more than $13 million cleaning up public property and more than $4 million dollars cleaning up private property.

The company offered the information as it argued against certification of a class-action suit filed over the spill. One million gallons of oil at Murphy's refinery in St. Bernard Parish, southeast of New Orleans.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said the spill damaged a larger area than Murphy has admitted. Much of the hearing focused on where the oil had spread.