Transocean says 2010 Gulf oil spill is BP's fault

The owner of the well that spewed oil across the Gulf of Mexico last year says the accident was BP's fault.

Transocean Ltd., in an investigative report released today, said that the British oil company caused the blowout of the Macondo Well and Deepwater Horizon drilling rig because its decisions increased the risk of a catastrophic failure.

"The Macondo incident was the result of a succession of interrelated well design, construction, and temporary abandonment decisions that compromised the integrity of the well and compounded the risk of its failure," Transocean said in the executive summary of the report. "The decisions, many made by the operator, BP, in the two weeks leading up to the incident, were driven by BP’s knowledge that the geological window for safe drilling was becoming increasingly narrow."

BP's own report, which was released last September, blamed Transocean and Halliburton, which did contracting work on the construction of the well, for the disaster.

The federal government has cast blame on all three companies involved in operating the rig.

The Deepwater Horizon incident led to an 87 day-long release of oil into the sea.

As a result of the oil spill, the United States has sued BP, Transocean, and several other entities for violations of the Clean Water Act and restitution under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

The litigation is pending in federal court in New Orleans.

Multiple private lawsuits are also pending.