BP and its partners involved in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill have unleased a $100 billion-plus barrage of legal claims a year after the rig blast killed 11 workers and created an environmental disaster. On the anniversary of the disaster, BP filed suits totalling more than $80 billion against Transocean and Halliburton.
And in a separate action on Wednesday, BP sued Cameron International Corp, the maker of the blow-out preventer, the so-called fail-safe device that failed to automatically shut down the well. BP is seeking up to the full cost of the disaster - estimated at $42 billion - plus costs, interest and punitive damages from each of the companies which helped it drill the doomed well.
Meanwhile, BP's partners in the well, Anadarko and Mitsui filed a lawsuit against it, challenging BP's demands that they contribute to the cost of the clean-up effort. Wednesday was the deadline - one year after the disaster - for companies connected to the spill to file claims against each other.
Analysts said the companies probably did not want the cases to ever get to court, as this would lead to a spectacle which would only further damage their already battered images. Instead, the suits were seen as tactical moves ahead of settlements that could see some of the burden shared. The litigation is expected to last for years.
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