In re Deepwater Horizon: United States v. B.P. Exploration & Production, Inc.

The Deepwater Horizon was an offshore-drilling vessel that was owned and operated by Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc. (Transocean) (defendant). The Deepwater Horizon had been involved in the drilling of an underwater oil well owned by B.P. Exploration & Production, Inc. (B.P.) and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (Anadarko) (defendants) and was still connected to the well by a 5,000-foot-long riser. As a result of a failure of cement in the well and a failure of a blowout preventer on the riser, a blowout of oil from the well occurred. Oil burst up through the riser onto the Deepwater Horizon, caught fire, and engulfed the vessel. The Deepwater Horizon eventually capsized and sank, and the riser connecting the vessel and the well was severed. Oil poured from the well into the ocean for almost three months before the well could be successfully capped. Among other suits related to the incident, the United States (plaintiff) sued Transocean, B.P., and Anadarko seeking civil penalties under the Clean Water Act. Transocean settled with the government. The district court granted summary judgment for the United States on a number of issues, including civil-penalty liability for B.P. and Anadarko as the well owners for the subsurface discharge of the oil. B.P. and Anadarko appealed, alleging that the discharge occurred from the riser rather than the well.