BP executive casts blame on Halliburton, Transocean for oil spill

BP wasn't the only one to blame for the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a senior company executive said, during court testimony.

Rig operator Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon rig, and contractor Halliburton are to blame, too, executive Lamar McKay said, according to a BBC report. Halliburton was the company that provided the cement to seal the well, he said.

The 2010 explosion, which killed 11, also resulted in a lengthy effort to seal the well. It took 84 days to seal it; in the meantime, roughly 4 million gallons of oil leaked into the Gulf.

BP is in the midst of a trial in New Orleans to determine liability. The company has already agreed to pay $4.5 billion on criminal charges, and $7.8 billion to businesses and individuals affected, BBC says. But it could face more fines — and a record-high civil settlement, up to $17.6 billion, BBC says.

BP officials, in latest testimony, tried to cast blame on other sources.

"I think that's a shared responsibility to manage the safety and the risk," Mr. McKay said, in response to who was responsible for the leak, according to the BBC. "Sometimes contractors manage that risk. Sometimes we do. Most of the time, it's a team effort."

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