Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico last year, filed a motion on Tuesday to shield itself from cleanup costs related to the 4.9 barrels of spilled oil, reported the Wall Street Journal.

BP hired Transocean as a contractor to drill the well, and protected it against pollution-related costs in the agreement.

BP, however, maintains that freeing Transocean of cleanup costs “would be inconsistent with the law and sound public policy,” and “to enforce the indemnification would be to allow Transocean to escape the consequences of its actions and avoid meeting its obligations in the Gulf.”

Nonetheless, some feel BP will have difficulty trying to convince a judge that Transocean should bear the burden of the cleanup costs. Blaine G. LeCesne, an associate professor at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, stated “That is a self-serving argument by BP. There is nothing in the law that supports that perspective.”

Tags: BP, cleanup, Transocean