BP (NYSE:BP), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), Transocean (NYSE:RIG) Share Blame in Gulf Disaster Says Commission

After hearing the conclusions of the U.S. presidential commission on the causes of the Gulf oil spill, BP (NYSE:BP) and its shareholders and investors thought of it as positive, while Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and Transocean (NYSE:RIG) weren't as happy at what they heard.

Canaccord Genuity said, "A report of a U.S. presidential commission into last year's Gulf oil spill said the blowout, which started the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, resulted from management failures by BP and its contractors. The report also criticized regulators given 'failures of government to provide effective regulatory oversight of offshore drilling.' According to the report, the root causes were “systemic”, and that without significant reform by the industry and by government agencies, such an accident may occur again. BP investors appeared to view this as good news, as some blame was spread to the other participants. The commission cited nine decisions made by the parties which increased risk. Seven of them were made by BP. While under U.S. law, BP faces fines of $5 billion because the spill happened on its exploration block, the fine could increase to above $21 billion if the energy company was found to have been grossly negligent. One European analyst wrote, 'The report may provide grounds for BP to claw back monies from license partners and possibly Transocean and Halliburton.' The commission criticized Halliburton for failing to properly test the cement used in the well. Transocean was also criticized because its crew was not taught about an “eerily similar” near miss which had previously occurred on one of its North Sea platforms.'

BP was trading at $46.17, down $0.06, or 0.13 percent, as of 11:49 AM EST. Halliburton was trading at $38.47, up $0.25, or 0.65 percent. Transocean was at $74.32, gaining $1.28, or 1.75 percent.