BP sues Transocean for $40 billion over oil spill4/21/11 NEW YORK (Reuters) - J.Stempel, P.Bansal, 20 Apr, 2011 On the first anniversary of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP Plc sued Transocean, seeking at least $40 billion in damages and other costs from the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig. London-based BP also sued Cameron International Corp for negligence, saying a blowout preventer made by Cameron failed to avert the catastrophe. Both complaints were filed Wednesday in federal court in New Orleans. Eleven people died when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded. About 4.9 million barrels, or more than 200 million gallons, of oil later flowed out of a subsurface BP well. BP has incurred tens of billions of dollars of liabilities from the disaster. BP accused Transocean of negligence, saying it caused the drilling rig to be "unseaworthy." "The simple fact is that on April 20, 2010, every single safety system and device and well control procedure on the Deepwater Horizon failed, resulting in the casualty," BP said. Transocean called the lawsuit a "desperate bid" by BP to renege on a contract to assume full responsibility for pollution and environmental costs. |
