BP found to be mainly responsible in oil spill report

Oil industry giant BP has been found largely responsible for the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion following an investigation.

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement and US Coast Guard Joint Investigation Team revealed the final investigative report on the incident yesterday (September 14th) which revealed that BP, rig owner Transocean and Halliburton all contributed to the disaster.

It concluded: "The blowout at the Macondo well on April 20, 2010, was the result of a series of decisions that increased risk and a number of actions that failed to fully consider or mitigate those risks."

BP were found to be largely at fault, although the report claimed that Transocean and Halliburton had also made major failings which contributed to the explosion.

Earlier this year BP announced second quarter profits of $5.3 billion (£3.2 billion), a dramatic recovery following the $17 billion loss the company made in the same period the previous year as a result of the leak in the Gulf of Mexico.