US government blames BP and contractors for Gulf spill

The US government has blamed BP and its contractors for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that occurred in 2010 - leaving 11 workers dead and dramatically reducing water quality.

In a federal report, officials investigating the Deepwater Horizon disaster said that "key mis-steps" had taken place because of poor leadership and shoddy cement work.

The report laid the ultimate responsibility on BP itself, but Transocean was lambasted for operating as normal despite the hazards present on the rig being known to the firm.

BP countered the report by saying "multiple causes, involving multiple parties, including Transocean and Halliburton" were to blame.

Poor risk management, last minute changes to operational plans and an inadequate response to critical indicators were all at the root of the disaster, the report concluded.

The Deepwater Horizon disaster occurred on April 20th 2010. By July 15th 2010, the resulting leak was stemmed after 4.9 million barrels of oil were released into the bay - damaging water quality and endangering local wildlife.

In July of this year, BP announced new safety measures it would be putting in place to boost the safety of deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Posted by Lauren Steadman