BP wants contractor Halliburton to pay all of its billions of pounds of costs for the Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico catastrophe.
A lawsuit filed by the oil giant in the US says Halliburton should reimburse it for the cost of cleaning up the oil spill, lost profits from the well and “all other costs and damages”.
BP has so far paid £13.5billion for the clean-up operation and compensating individuals, businesses and governments.
It has also reserved more than £25.8billion to cover costs related to the Deepwater Horizon explosion on April 20, 2010.
The latest lawsuit, filed at a court in New Orleans, is the latest shot in an increasingly messy legal battle over the accident, which killed 11 workers and unleashed millions of barrels of oil into the sea.
BP and Halliburton have accused each another of making critical mistakes which led to the blow-out of the rig’s Macondo well.
They are believed to jointly face more than 500 lawsuits by coastal property owners, businesses and governments claiming billions of dollars in damages for environmental impacts along the coasts of Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.
BP owned the lease for Macondo and Halliburton provided well-completion services.
A judge at a federal court in New Orleans is expected to begin a trial in February to determine liability for the spill. Halliburton, based in Houston, Texas, has said its cementing services contract required BP to indemnify it from all damage claims, even if its employees were found to have shared blame for the disaster.
BP has rejected that argument and accused Halliburton of gross negligence.
Other defendants in a string of lawsuits filed in the aftermath of the spill include Switzerland-based Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon.
Cameron International, which made blow-out prevention equipment used on the rig, and Anadarko Petroleum – 25% owner of the Macondo prospect – are also the subject of court writs, as is Mitsui and Co’s Moex Offshore unit, which had a 10% stake in the well.
Cameron, Anadarko and Mitsui have already reached settlements with BP.
UK-based BP has not said exactly how much it wants Halliburton to pay.
A spokesman for the oil firm declined to put a figure on the costs sought in the latest filing, saying only the court papers “speak for themselves”.
Halliburton officials were not available for comment.
Last April, BP asked a court to award it damages “equal to, or in the alternative proportional to Halliburton’s fault” to cover any clean-up costs and government fines it could face.