A worker on the Deepwater Horizon rig has claimed he discovered a problem with safety equipment weeks before an explosion that resulted in a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Tyrone Benton told the BBC's Panorama programme that he identified a fault on a device known as the blowout preventer.
He claimed it was shut down instead of being fixed and a second device was relied on instead.
BP said rig owner Transocean was responsible for the operation and maintenance of that piece of equipment. Transocean said it tested the device successfully before the blast.
BP today said the cost of its response to the oil spill had hit $2 billion and that it had paid out $105 million in damages to those affected by the disaster.
In a statement, the company rejected claims by its partner in the oil well, Anadarko Petroleum, that it had been negligent in the way it executed the well. It agreed last week to place $20 billion in a fund to compensate victims of the oil spill.
The Financial Times today reported that BP chief executive Tony Hayward was planning to meet Russian president Dmitry Medvedev to calm fears over the company's future after the spill.
The trip, which is yet to be finalised, is aimed at restoring confidence in Russia — one of BP's most lucrative areas of operation — that the company is able to withstand the cost of America's worst environmental disaster.
The move comes after Mr Hayward was pilloried in the US for spending a day sailing despite mounting anger that he is not doing enough to control the leaking well.
The White House led a barrage of criticism of Mr Hayward's decision to spend time relaxing on the Isle of Wight at the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race.
President Barack Obama's chief of staff said he had committed yet another in a "long line of PR gaffes" by attending the race.
Rahm Emanuel mocked Mr Hayward's statement on Facebook that he wished the crisis were over so he could have his life back.
Agencies