A court has ruled that oil giant BP will have to cover the cost of compensation claims made to Deepwater Horizon rig owner Transocean (NYSE: RIG - news) over the 2010 explosion that killed 11 people and caused the worst oil spill in US history.
The ruling, handed down by a Federal (SES: E1:F20.SI - news) judge in the United States, is a blow to BP's efforts to pass on some of the costs from the blast and oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico.
Transocean could still be liable for punitive damages and fines imposed by the US government, although that figure is likely to be much lower than compensation payouts.
BP has claimed the ruling vindicates its assertion that the liability for the accident must be shared.
"As we have said from the beginning, Transocean cannot avoid its responsibility for this accident," the company said in a statement.
"Since the spill, we have stepped up, acknowledged our role and paid more than $7.8bn [£4.9bn] in claims, advances and other payments".
Transocean owned the oil rig, while BP owned a majority of the well, whose blowout led to the spill.
The drilling company's spokesman, Lou Colasuonno, said "This confirms that BP is responsible for all economic damages caused by the oil that leaked from its Macondo well, and discredits BP's ongoing attempts to evade both its contractual and financial obligations."
Shares in Transocean rose 8.9% in after-hours trading, while BP's shares fell more than 1% in early trading in London.
The New Orleans-based judge set a February 27 start date for a trial to apportion blame for the blast.
Eleven workers were killed in the explosion and 4.9m barrels of oil spilled into the ocean before the leak was finally capped.
BP previously said it expected the costs of sealing the blown out well, cleaning up the damage, compensating those affected and government fines to reach $42bn (£27bn).
1 comment