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British oil firm claims every safety device failed before Gulf of Mexico explosion a year ago BP is suing the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig and the maker of the device that failed to stop last year’s calamitous Gulf oil spill, alleging that negligence by both companies helped to cause the disaster. The British company said in papers filed in a federal court in New Orleans that it was suing the rig owner, Transocean, for at least $40bn (£24bn) in damages, accusing it of causing the deadly blowout in the Gulf of Mexico that led to the worst offshore oil spill in US history. BP says every safety system, device and well control procedure on the Deepwater Horizon rig failed. It is also suing Cameron International, claiming it provided a blowout preventer with a faulty design that caused an unreasonable amount of risk. Both companies have filed counter claims against BP. The filings are essentially legal manoeuvres to preserve the companies’ claims. A federal trial is scheduled for next year that will determine which companies are at fault and how much their liability should be. The lawsuits, filed on the first anniversary of the explosion that led to the spill, seek damages to help BP pay for the tens of billions of dollars in liabilities it has incurred from the disaster. Though BP has estimated its liabilities at $40.9bn, it could face tens of billions of dollars more in civil and criminal fines and penalties from the US government. “The Deepwater Horizon BOP was unreasonably dangerous, and has caused and continues to cause harm, loss, injuries, and damages to BP (and others) stemming from the blowout of Macondo well, the resulting explosion and fire onboard the Deepwater Horizon, the efforts to regain control of the Macondo well, and the oil spill that ensued before control of the Macondo well could be regained,” BP said in the lawsuit against Cameron. BP wants the court to award it damages against Cameron and to declare that the device maker caused or contributed to the disaster and is responsible for some or all costs incurred by BP. Eleven people were killed when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on 20 April 2010, leading to more than 200m gallons (757m litres) of oil spewing from an undersea well. A testing firm hired by the government determined last month the blowout preventer had a faulty design. It also cited other problems related to rig crew actions. BP said in a statement that it wanted Transocean to pay its “proportionate” share of all damages and liabilities from the disaster. In a statement, Transocean called BP’s lawsuit “desperate”, “specious” and “unconscionable”. “The Deepwater Horizon was a world-class drilling rig manned by a top-flight crew that was put in jeopardy by BP, the operator of the Macondo well, through a series of cost-saving decisions that increased risk, in some cases severely,” it said. Houston-based Cameron noted that Wednesday was the deadline under the relevant statute for all parties to file claims against each other. “It is not surprising that the companies are filing to protect their indemnity rights (except in the case of BP) and whatever claims they believe they have,” it said. “Additionally, in order to protect ourselves, we, too, have filed crossclaims and counterclaims, including our indemnity claims, against other parties to the litigation.” Cameron, one of the largest makers of blowout preventers, has defended the integrity of its devices and workmanship. Transocean also filed court papers demanding that judgments be made against BP, Cameron and other companies in its favour. Among other things, Transocean wants a judgment against BP for $12.9m and a judgment against the cement contractor Halliburton and other companies for $20m. Transocean said the figures stemmed from contractual obligations and the money it lost when the rig sank. BP oil spill BP United States Oil spills Pollution Oil Oil Oil and gas companies Energy industry guardian.co.uk