BP, Transocean and Haliburton

It's a court fight that may consume billions in just lawyer costs, and many more billions in penalties, call it BP round two.  The negligence that led up to the destruction of the Deepwater Horizon, 11 deaths, and the massive 6 million gallon spill is an incredible tale in itself. 

BP pleaded guilty to 14 federal charges in November, including 12 felonies, and admitted it misinterpreted the critical pressure test just before the explosion. The U.K. company agreed to pay $4 billion in fines and penalties, plus $525 million to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission case. BP has already paid $8.5 Billion on the oil spill cleanup, as well as other smaller claims, but the big expenses still lie ahead for somebody, and the massive companies are trying to pin the blame on each other.  Some facts:

• The rig’s crew misinterpreted results of negative pressure tests done April 20, 2010, that showed the Macondo well was unstable.
• The government and spill victims say BP was over budget and behind schedule on the Macondo well, located off the Louisiana coast, prompting the company to cut corners and ignore safety tests showing the well was unstable.
• They also allege that Halliburton’s cement job was defective and that Transocean employees made missteps on the rig, including disabling safety systems, failing to maintain the installation properly and not adequately training its crew to handle a crisis. 
•  The judge also heard more testimony from Ronnie Sepulvado, a BP manager assigned to the Macondo project, who testified that some of the rig’s equipment, including a device used in drilling operations, was broken for about three years. The crew would “work around it,” he added. Sepulvado said he constantly raised the maintenance issue “with just about everybody on the rig,” he said.