BP sues Transocean and Cameron over Deepwater accident

British Petroleum is suing Deepwater Horizon oil rig owner Transocean and parts manufacturer Cameron International over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill last year.

The oil giant, which had to take much flak over the accident confirmed it was to suing the firms for $40 billion  in damages at federal court in New Orleans, over their alleged role in the fatal explosion.

The company said in a statement that the move was ''to ensure that all parties involved in the Macondo well are appropriately held accountable.''

In the statement, BP claimed that the Switzerland-based company Transocean "missed critical signs that hydrocarbons were flowing up the riser and failed to take appropriate actions".

"As the owner and operator of the Deepwater Horizon rig, Transocean is a 'responsible party' under the Oil Pollution Act and should therefore contribute to addressing economic and environmental damage sustained in the Gulf Coast," it added.

In a separate statement the British company also said it was suing US firm Cameron International, the makers of a blowout preventer. BP believes it was the failure of the blowout preventer that led to the blast and the spill last year.
 
The company's statement said one of the blowout preventer's "blind shear rams", meant to cut the faulty drill pipe and seal the well, failed to close fully due to a piece of trapped drill pipe, leading to the 20 April disaster.