The blowout preventer (BOP) that was intended to shut off the flow of high-pressure oil and gas from the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico during the disaster on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on April 20, 2010, failed to seal the well because drill pipe buckled for reasons the offshore drilling industry remains largely unaware of, according to a new two-volume draft … [Read more...]
BP Witness Testimony May Save Halliburton Billions
By Margaret Cronin Fisk, Jef Feeley and Laurel Brubaker Calkins (Bloomberg) -- Halliburton Co. may escape paying billions of dollars in damages for its role in the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history thanks to statements by a witness for codefendant BP Plc. Halliburton is accused by victims of the Gulf of Mexico spill, and by codefendant companies including BP, of … [Read more...]
Transocean Urges U.S. District Judge to Accept Guilty Plea
(Bloomberg) -- Transocean Ltd. and federal prosecutors urged a judge to accept the oil driller’s agreement to plead guilty to a criminal charge over its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill and pay more than $1.4 billion, according to court papers. Transocean’s willingness to plead guilty to violating federal pollution laws and pay a $400 million criminal … [Read more...]
BP Suspended from Winning New US Government Contracts
(Bloomberg) -- BP Plc, which pleaded guilty to criminal charges after the worst U.S. oil spill in 2010, will be temporarily suspended from winning new contracts from the federal government, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a statement today. The EPA said the ban was imposed because the company’s conduct during the Deepwater Horizon disaster showed a … [Read more...]
Former BP Engineer Pleads Not Guilty, Grand Jury to Hear First Criminal Deepwater Horizon Case
(Bloomberg) -- A former BP Plc engineer charged with destroying evidence sought for a U.S. probe of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill lost his bid to have one of the two charges against him dismissed. Kurt Mix, who was charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly deleting text-message strings from his mobile phone, said one of the counts, covering 182 messages to a … [Read more...]
BP Oil Spill Trial Postponed by Mardi Gras and Football
(Bloomberg) -- The trial over liability for BP Plc’s 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill was postponed to Feb. 25 so the lawyers won’t lose their accommodations to Super Bowl and Mardi Gras crowds, a New Orleans judge said. The Super Bowl, the National Football League’s title game, is set for Feb. 3, and the last day of Mardi Gras, the pre- Lenten festival, is … [Read more...]
Deepwater Horizon’s “Company Men” Refuse to Testify, Prosecutors Seek Penalty Against BP
(Bloomberg) -- The refusal of three BP Plc executives’ to testify about the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster should be held against the company at a multibillion-dollar trial over liability for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, prosecutors said. Mark Hafle, BP’s senior drilling engineer; Brian Morel, a drilling engineer; and Robert Kaluza, the … [Read more...]