Blame game kicks off in Macondo trial

Oil clings to the feathers of oiled pelicans waiting to be cleaned at a rescue center facility set up by the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Fort Jackson, Louisiana, in this June 7, 2010 file photo. April 20, 2011 is the first anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion at BP's Macondo undersea well in the Gulf of Mexico. The accident killed 11 workers and triggered the United States' worst offshore oil spill, which was also the biggest ever accidental release of oil into an ocean.   REUTERS/Sean Gardner/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT ANIMALS ANNIVERSARY)

Macondo trial: BP, Halliburton, Transocean dispute blame over what went wrong

A long-awaited trial over the biggest US offshore oil spill began on Monday, with governments, businesses and individuals blaming BP mostly for the 2010 disaster that killed 11 rig workers and spilled 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Lawyers for other plaintiffs also slammed BP executives, as did attorneys for two of the well owner's co-defendants, rig owner Transocean and cement services provider Halliburton, Reuters reported.

BP lawyer Mike Brock said the blame was shared by all three companies.

"Not only was it within BP's power to prevent the tragedy, it was its responsibility," Assistant US Attorney Mike Underhill said at the trial according to the news wire, which will determine legal culpability for the blowout and spill.

BP must show that its mistakes do not meet the legal definition of gross…

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