BP failed to implement a new safety plan on the Deepwater Horizon rig even though it realised a blowout in the Gulf of Mexico was its greatest danger, a court heard today.

Two BP rig supervisors charged with manslaughter over the death of 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon will not go on trial until 2014.

Oil giant BP has been suspended from new contracts with the US government because of the way it handled the Gulf rig disaster.

BP focused too much on the little details of personal worker safety instead of the big systemic hazards that led to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a US government safety panel has concluded.

BP Plc and lawyers for businesses and individuals suing over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill are near a $14bn (€10.64bn) accord to be funded with money set aside for out-of-court settlements, according to people familiar with the talks.

BP ratcheted up the rhetoric around multi-billion dollar claims from the Gulf oil spill by warning it would vigorously contest lawsuits over one of the world’s worst environmental disasters.

A US judge has ruled that Halliburton can avoid paying most of the pollution claims that resulted from the catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill because it was shielded in a contract with well owner BP.

BRITISH oil giant BP is pushing the US energy services firm Halliburton, to pay for all the costs BP incurred in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

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.

BP has accused Halliburton of destroying damaging evidence about the quality of the cement used in the oil well that blew out last year and caused the worst US offshore oil spill.

BP is accusing Halliburton of destroying damaging evidence about the quality of its cement that went into the Deepwater Horizon well that exploded, killing 11 people and causing America’s worst offshore oil spill.

BP, the operator of the Gulf of Mexico well that caused the worst ever US oil spill last year, said profit declined less than expected as it increased an asset sales target 50% to $45 billion (€32.3bn).

UK investors lost confidence in the prospect of a speedy resolution to the eurozone debt crisis today, causing London's leading share index to drop into the red.

A key US report has laid much of the blame on BP for the massive Gulf of Mexico rig disaster.

A BP scientist identified a previously unreported deposit of flammable gas that could have played a role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, it has emerged.

BP posted lower-than-expected profits today in a further sign of the pressure on the firm as it looks to reverse its fortunes in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Relatives flew over Gulf of Mexico waters where 11 oil rig workers died a year ago, residents gathered in prayer vigils onshore and President Barack Obama vowed to hold BP and others accountable for “the painful losses that they’ve caused”.

Contractor Halliburton admitted today that it skipped a crucial test on the final formulation of cement used to seal the BP oil well that blew out in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP’S incoming chief executive fired the executive responsible for deep water wells like the one that blew out in the Gulf of Mexico and announced a new unit to police safety practices throughout the company.

THE US government will independently verify how much oil has leaked into the Gulf of Mexico from a BP-owned undersea well.