BP sues Cameron, Deepwater Horizon owner Transocean over Gulf of Mexico oil spill
April 21st, 2011 - 12:26 pm ICT by ANILondon, Apr.21 (ANI): British Petroleum (BP) has filed two lawsuits - one against Transocean, the owner of the oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico last year, for 40 billion dollars in damages, and the second one against Cameron International, the maker of the rig’s blow-out preventer, alleging the device failed to stop the huge oil spill that followed the explosion.
Both lawsuits were filed on Wednesday on the first anniversary of the explosion, which killed 11 workers, the BBC reports.
Overnight on 20 April 2010, Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon burst into flames while drilling a well for BP. In the months that followed, more than 200 million gallons (780 million litres) of oil flowed in the Gulf of Mexico from the well, soiling hundreds of miles of coastline in the worst US oil spill in recent history.
In federal court in New Orleans on Wednesday, BP said Swiss-based Transocean and Cameron International, the Houston company that supplied the blow-out preventer (BOP), should help it pay for tens of billions of dollars in liabilities resulting from the spill, which include clean-up and compensation costs.
BP also wants the court to declare that Cameron caused or contributed to the disaster.
Cameron has filed counter-claims and defended the integrity of its products. Transocean did not immediately comment on the BP lawsuit but has also requested court judgements against BP, Cameron and others.
BP has estimated its liability at 40.9 billion dollars, but could face tens of billions more in fines and penalties. (ANI)
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