BP partner 'liable for own damages'

BP is seeking to shield itself from having to compensate Halliburton for punitive damages, fines and penalties the cement contractor may face for its role in the deadly rig explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Billions of dollars are potentially at stake as a trial scheduled for February approaches. The civil trial, which is expected to last eight weeks, is being held to assign shares of fault to the companies involved in the worst offshore oil spill in US history.