BP joins oil spill response company

HOUSTON, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- British energy company BP said it joined its oil partners at a company set up in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to respond to future disasters.

BP said it joined counterparts at Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell as members of the Marine Well Containment Co.

The MWCC was set up in the wake of the oil spill last year in the Gulf of Mexico to respond to any future disaster like the incident at BP's Deepwater Horizon oil platform.

BP's Macondo on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico failed in April, causing a deadly explosion that led to one of the worst accidental offshore oil spills in the history of the industry.

James Dupree, a regional administrator in charge of BP's work in the Gulf of Mexico, said joining the MWCC was part of a pledge made last year to share lessons learned from the Macondo blowout.

"Joining the MWCC and bringing our capabilities and equipment to an interim response system is another important part of that commitment," he said in a statement.

BP has been selling U.S. and international assets to help pay for damages related to the gulf disaster.

BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said in a Tuesday speech that 2010 would "rightly be remembered" for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"I am determined that we will emerge from this episode as a company that is safer, stronger, more sustainable, more trusted and also more valuable," he added.