BP tells court it did not dither in response to U.S. Gulf spill

October 2, 2013

BP Plc unnecessarily delayed the capping of its Macondo well and worsened the extent of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill through dithering and indecision, according to allegations by plaintiffs' lawyers on Tuesday that the British company denied.

In the second phase of a trial in New Orleans over billions of dollars in potential fines, lawyers for the plaintiffs - the U.S. government, Gulf states and former contractors Transocean and Halliburton Co - also sought to show BP's estimates of the size of the leak were unsubstantiated and caused delays by complicating efforts to cap the well.

In the costliest scenario, fines under the Clean Water Act could reach nearly $18 billion - an amount beyond the $42 billion BP has set aside for clean-up, compensation and damages.

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