Company tries to cap what it would pay if it loses lawsuits over rig blast.
NEW YORK — The company that owns the sunken Deepwater Horizon rig said Thursday it will petition a federal court in Houston to cap its overall liability from the incident at less than $27 million.
If successful, Transocean Ltd. would be left with as much as $533 million in insurance money from the failed venture. That’s almost enough to cover the revenue the company was expecting from a three-year contract with BP PLC. However, it has also estimated additional expenses from insurance deductibles, higher insurance premiums and legal fees at about $200 million.
The move comes as lawsuits pile up against Transocean and BP, which leased the rig and is trying to shut off a well that’s spewing 210,000 gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico each day. In addition, hearings by congressional and administration panels this week have raised questions about safety procedures and equipment employed at the drill site.