While BP blames the blowout on Transocean, the rig's owner, overseer of the operation and in charge of preventing blowouts. BP claims a stack of pipes and valves designed to close off the flow of oil in case of a sudden pressure change failed.

Halliburton joined BP and Transocean by providing a variety of services on the rig like cementing the well to stabilize its walls and plug it.

BP has already paid out 350 million U.S. dollars in clean up costs. Its share price has fallen about 15 percent since the rig blast, wiping about 30 billion US dollars from its market value.

But the negative impact of this disaster isn't just affecting the economy. The oil slick is threatening local residents' health, devastating wildlife, fisheries, shipping and tourism along the Gulf Coast.

Analysts say delays in containing the oil leak increase its chances of becoming the United States' worst ever oil spill, surpassing the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident in Alaska.

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