Transocean Accuses BP of Withholding Spill Data

U.S. NEWS AUGUST 19, 2010, 2:16 P.M. ET

By TENNILLE TRACY

WASHINGTON—TransoceanLtd. is accusing BPPLC of withholding valuable information about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, saying the U.K. oil giant is crippling Transocean's ability to conduct its own investigation into the disaster.

In an Aug. 18 letter to BP America lawyers, Transocean said BP has refused to hand over logs, operational reports and seismic data that will shed light on why and how the Deepwater Horizon rig caught fire and sank, leading to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

"It appears that BP is withholding evidence in an attempt to prevent any entity other than BP from investigating the cause of the April 20th incident and the resulting spill," Transocean attorney Steven Roberts said in the letter.

BP is denying Transocean's accusations. BP spokeswoman Elizabeth Asfhord called the letter "misguided and misleading," saying "we have been at the forefront of cooperating with various investigations commissioned by the U.S. government and others into the causes of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy."

Investigations conducted by BP, Transocean and other companies involved in the spill will most likely play a big role in determining which entities eventually pay for the billions of dollars of damages caused by the spill.

Debate over data access will probably be just one of several high-stakes disagreements that BP and Transocean have while sorting out responsibility for the spill.

Transocean, which is the drilling contractor that owned the Deepwater Horizon rig, implies in its letter that BP also failed to hand over relevant information to the federal government, which is also studying the causes of the spill.

The government's spill commission, however, says BP has already delivered some data and did so most recently Thursday.

"When the commission was formed, [BP Chief Executive] Tony Haywardpersonally assured co-chair William Reilly full cooperation," said commission spokesman Dave Cohen.

Mr. Cohen did not disclose what types of data BP released and said the commission is still reviewing the contents of the most recent batch.

BP is reportedly conducting its own investigation into the spill and is expected to release details of that review in coming weeks.

As part of that process, Transocean says it has given BP all of the information the company requested.

"Despite Transocean's prompt and transparent production of information requested by BP, BP has continued to demonstrate its unwillingness, if not an outright refusal, to deliver even the most basic information to Transocean," the letter said.

Transocean sent copies of its letter to several key lawmakers, as well as federal officials involved in the government's investigations.

Write to Tennille Tracy at tennille.tracy@dowjones.com