Anadarko Scores Major Legal Victory in Spill Suit

Anadarko Petroleum APC, which held a 25% non-operating interest in the ill-fated Macondo well project, scored a major legal victory on Friday when the company was dismissed from claims related to exposure to oil and other chemicals following the largest oil spill in U.S. history. The story was originally reported by Bloomberg News just after 8PM Eastern time. BP BP, Europe's second-largest oil company, was the primary operator of the Macondo well and the Deepwater Horizon rig. The British oil giant has been seeking $1 billion in cleanup costs from Anadarko, but the Texas-based company has thus far refused to pay, alleging BP is primarily responsible for the spill. Since the Gulf of Mexico oil spill on 2010, shares of Anadarko, the second-largest U.S. independent oil and natural gas producer, have been vulnerable to bad news related to spill legal proceedings and have been known to move higher on positive news. Anadarko CEO Jim Hackett has previously said his company would entertain settlement talks with BP, but only under the right circumstances.