Louisiana Lawyer BlogBP Shortcuts Blamed for Gulf Oil Spill
The U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Enforcement released a 500-page report this week finding BP primarily responsible for the Gulf Oil Spill. The report revealed that the company took many shortcuts in an attempt to cut costs and complete its troubled well project.
The report states that the primary cause of the drilling rig’s explosion was defective cement at the base of the well. This cement is typically used to contain oil and gas within the wellbore. According to a detailed analysis of the report, this failure led to a chain of errors that ultimately caused natural gas to shoot onto the drilling platform and ignite the explosion. ‘
This final report could affect the allocation of liability among the parties responsible for the spill in subsequent litigation and increases the likelihood that BP will face criminal charges for its role in the Gulf Oil Spill. The report makes clear that BP, as the owner of the well, was responsible for the accident and further indicates that Transocean and Halliburton, BP’s chief contractors who supplied the cement, contributed to the deadly errors.
The deadline to file a claim in the federal BP Gulf Oil Spill lawsuit was April 20, 2011, the anniversary of the accident. The trial will be held in a New Orleans federal district court in February 2012. For questions, contact Broussard, David & Moroux at 1-888-337-2323 (toll free) or 337-233-2323 (local).