BP ‘partly’ to blame for Gulf of Mexico oil spill
A SENIOR BP executive told a US court that the company was partly but not wholly responsible for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
BP’s global head of exploration and production Lamar McKay said: “We have agreed that we are part of the responsibility for this tragic accident. We have apologised for that.”
He told the New Orleans hearing that managing the hazards of deepwater drilling was a “team effort”.
In the first part of the trial district judge Carl Barbier will decide on the share of the blame between BP and the contractors working on the project, rig operator Transocean and cement provider Halliburton.
e have agreed that we are part of the responsibility for this tragic accident. We have apologised for that.
The court also heard videotaped evidence from former BP executive Kevin Lacy who resigned a few months before the spill because of concerns about safety practices. He said: “I was never given a directive to cut corners or to deliver something not safely but there was tremendous pressure on costs.”
If the judge rules the firms were guilty of gross negligence they could face damages running into tens of billions of pounds and the risk of class action lawsuits.