Anadarko Claims Act of God in Rig Contract Case
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Anadarko Petroleum Corp., in what will be the first case arising from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill to go to trial, argues a U.S. ban on deep-water drilling qualified as an act of God that allowed it to end a rig lease.
Anadarko, in a dispute set for trial today in Houston, terminated its lease contract for Noble Corp.’s offshore oil rig in June 2010, after President Barack Obama’s May 27 announcement of a six-month ban on deep-water drilling following the BP Plc spill. Anadarko sued Noble, asking the court to rule the contract was “lawfully terminated” because the moratorium should be considered an act of God, or “force majeure,” that prevented use of the Noble Amos Runner rig as of May 28.