Browne's recent comments appeared to be directed at hull designer GVA, a Swedish naval architecture outfit owned by Halliburton's engineering and construction arm KBR, which engineered the Thunder Horse hull.
Browne was quoted as saying that a "thorough investigation" led BP to conclude that the incident was "not storm-related, but was caused by a design weakness in the ballast system".
A GVA official in Gothenburg said that was not true.
"GVA's
