A year on from the deepwater horizon oil rig explosion, BP is suing Transocean for at least £24m

BP has launched a $40 billion USD (£24bn) lawsuit against Transocean, the owners of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded last year in the Gulf of Mexico.

The tragic explosion one year ago that killed 11 people, lead to the worst offshore oil spill in US history, with more than 200 million gallons of oil spewing from the undersea well.

BP have launched separate lawsuits against Haliburton, the company that cemented the blown-out well, and Cameron International, the makers of the blow-out preventer that BP claim was of faulty design.

BP has put the total cost of the spill at $42bn USD plus interest, legal costs and damages.

BP did not release how much it has claimed for from Haliburton, but asked for damages of up to the total cost of the spill.

There are reports the total cost of the spill could reach as much as $60 billion

BP said in a statement they want to “ensure that all parties involved in the Macondo well are appropriately held accountable for their roles in contributing to the Deepwater Horizon accident”