The consolidated trial of which oil company began in February of 2013? The answer is BP.
The trial arose from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, when an offshore drilling rig operating for BP exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. The blast killed 11 workers and caused one of the largest marine oil spills in history. Lawsuits by the U.S. government, Gulf Coast states, businesses and individuals were consolidated in federal court in New Orleans.
The first phase began on February 20, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier. It focused on determining liability and whether BP, Transocean, Halliburton and other companies had acted negligently or with gross negligence and willful misconduct. Later phases examined the amount of oil discharged and the resulting damages.
A common mix-up is identifying Transocean as the answer because it owned and operated the Deepwater Horizon rig. Halliburton was also involved as the cement contractor. However, BP was the oil company at the center of the consolidated litigation and the principal defendant associated with the Macondo well. The court later found BP grossly negligent and assigned it the largest share of responsibility.