Halliburton Energy Services has agreed to plead guilty and pay the maximum fine for destroying evidence in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the U.S. Justice Department announced yesterday.

The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico in April, 2010 killed ten workers and spilled millions of gallons of oil – one of the worst environmental disasters in history.

The company admitted to ordering employees to destroy computer reconstructions of the blowout. It will pay a $200,000 fine and serve three years' probation for its guilty plea to one misdemeanor count related to deletion of records.

In return, the Justice Department has agreed to not pursue further charges against the company.

Halliburton also contributed $55 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Countless numbers of fish and birds were killed by the spill.

The Justice Department said that in agreeing to plead guilty, Halliburton "has accepted criminal responsibility" for destroying the evidence.