…Anadarko Petroleum…has agreed to pay $5.1 billion for a vast environmental cleanup…The settlement…is aimed at restoring thousands of sites polluted by toxins and compensating thousands of people with personal injury claims…The case stretches back almost a decade, originating with claims against Kerr-McGee, an...energy and chemical company that is now a subsidiary of Anadarko…Anadarko had argued that it could not be held liable for pollution caused by Kerr-McGee, which had ostensibly passed the liabilities on to a spinoff company called Tronox, now bankrupt. But a bankruptcy judge said the reorganization was simply an attempt to dodge liability…[Oil] experts said it was also a welcome development for Anadarko, removing a long distraction and possibly making the company…a takeover target…Anadarko’s chief executive, Al Walker, issued a statement hailing the agreement, saying it “eliminates the uncertainty this dispute has created.”…