British oil giant BP said Thursday it had agreed to pay the U.S. state of Texas about 18 million U.S. dollars for five restoration projects after the devastating 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The money was part of the 1 billion dollars that the company agreed to pay for early restoration after the spill, BP said in a statement.

The five Texas restoration projects will enhance recreational use of natural resources, as well as enhancement two state parks, BP said.

The 1 billion U.S. dollars BP had agreed to pay will go to Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Texas and the U.S. federal government. Each state is expected to get at least 100 million U.S. dollars.

Lousiana Governor Bobby Jindal said Tuesday BP had agreed to pay 340 million U.S. dollars for early restoration projects in the U.S. states affected by the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Most of the money would be used to restore four barrier islands that act as hurricane buffers for Louisiana's mainland and create two fish research hatcheries in the state, Jindal said.

Among BP's many liabilities arising out of the 2010 oil spill is the Natural Resources Damage Assessment process that is part of determining the full impact of the disaster on the Gulf and how best to fix the situation.

The blowout of BP's Macondo well triggered an explosion that killed 11 rig workers and unleashed the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

BP had agreed to pay 4.5 billion dollars in fines and make other payments to the U.S. government and plead guilty to misconduct and negligence charges in connection with the spill.

The company still faces the prospect of having to pay billions more in civil penalties over the amount of oil that spilled. A trial had begun to determine if BP was guilty of gross negligence.

Under the country's Clean Water Act, a polluter pays a minimum of 1,100 dollars per barrel of spilled oil. The fines nearly quadruple to about 4,300 dollars per barrel for companies found guilty of gross negligence.

If U.S. federal and state officials are successful in proving gross negligence against BP in its handling of the spill, the fines against the London-based oil giant will be four times as high as under a lower standard of liability.