BP trial over Gulf of Mexico spill postponed

Feb 26, 2012, 22:35 GMT

London/New Orleans - The trial over the worst oil spill in US history, which was set to start in the US on Monday, has been postponed for a week, BP announced in London late Sunday.

The case over the 2010 disaster, in which an explosion caused a BP oil well to gush millions of barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico, has been put off until March 5th.

In a joint statement, BP and the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee said the eleventh-hour adjournment would allow the two sides more time to continue settlement discussions and attempt to reach an agreement.

'There can be no assurance that these discussions will lead to a settlement agreement. A further announcement will be made as appropriate,' the statement said.

The announcement came after BP chief executive Bob Dudley said the company was preparing for a trial while leaving itself open to a 'fair settlement.'

'As I have said before, we are prepared to settle if we can do so on fair and reasonable terms,' Dudley told the Sunday Telegraph in London.

The US federal government, several states and various local authorities are suing BP and its associated companies for the damage. BP, in turn, is suing partners including energy giant Haliburton.

The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon Platform in April, 2010, claimed the lives of 11 oil workers and released between 4 and 5 million barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico.

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