NU Online News Service, Oct. 20, 3:55 p.m. EDT
BP Exploration & Production said it will waive a $75 million liability cap in the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) and urges other "responsible parties" of the Deepwater Horizon disaster to do the same.
According to court documents filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana, BP reaffirmed its pledge to pay all legitimate claims regardless of the limit established by OPA.
The oil company also used the filing to make sure the blame for the massive oil spill was not placed solely on it.
"By making this statement, BP and its affiliates are not admitting anything about their conduct and, indeed, specifically deny that they are engaged in any gross negligence in connection with the Deepwater Horizon incident and the resulting oil spill," the court filing reads.
There are other responsible parties for the spill, BP said, specifically Transocean Holdings LLC, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC.
The other companies involved have not waived the liability cap, but "BP urges them likewise to unequivocally waive their respective rights to invoke the limits," the filing said.
BP said its promise to pay all legitimate claims will not be affected by whether the other companies waive the cap, but it "reserves the right to seek reimbursement or contribution from other responsible parties and third parties" for claims and expenses related to the oil spill.
BP said at the start of September that it had made claim payments of nearly $400 million during the 16 weeks it managed claims related to the oil spill before transitioning its claims program to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility.
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