Halliburton was a contractor for BP at the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon oil drilling operation . BP and its contractors have been locked in legal battles since last year . TL;DR The U.S. government has awarded $18.7 billion to BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Transocean Ltd. The explosion led to more than 200 million gallons of oil being released into the Gulf of Mexico .
Halliburton was a contractor for BP at the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon oil drilling operation . BP and its contractors have been locked in legal battles since last year . An explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon killed 11 and injured 16 . The explosion led to more than 200 million gallons of oil being released into the Gulf of Mexico .