"This pretty much puts a final stamp on the settlement and the pain of the past five years can come to an end," said Iain Armstrong, a London-based oil sector analyst at Brewin Dolphin Ltd. The consent decree will become final only after completion of a public-comment period of at least 60 days, according to the documents. The accord gives the U.S. and the states the right to back out or withhold support from the deal "if comments received during the public comment procedure disclose facts or considerations indicating that the proposed consent decree or any of its terms is inappropriate, improper or inadequate." "Today we are another step closer to finalizing the settlement we announced on July 2, fulfilling our commitment to help restore the Gulf economy and environment," BP said in an e- mailed statement. The U.S. government filing does not reflect a new settlement or any new payments and covers the same details disclosed by BP in July, the company said.