Last checked at 
NEW ORLEANS, April 17 (Reuters) - The first phase of a trialto determine blame for BP Plc's 2010 Gulf of Mexico oilspill came to an end on Wednesday, with the judge allowing 80days for the determination of findings and conclusions.
It ended only three days before the three-year anniversaryof the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which killed 11 people andcaused the worst U.S. offshore spill.
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said he would allow 60 daysfor the filing of briefs, and then 20 more days for replybriefs, as the parties work toward a September start of thesecond phase of the trial, which will consider the amount of oilspilled in order to determine damages.
The trial was brought by the U.S. government, people andbusinesses affected, and states along the Gulf that had oil ontheir shores.
The first phase was to apportion blame between BP and itscontractors - rig owner Transocean Ltd and cementprovider Halliburton Co - and determine the level ofnegligence involved in the accident on April 20, 2010.
"I appreciate the fact that we were able to complete thistrial in two months rather than the three months everyoneprojected when this began," Barbier told the court in NewOrleans. "I know it's been demanding at times."
The first phase lasted just short of eight weeks.
On Wednesday, BP lawyers took a final shot at pushing moreblame on to the two contractor companies. Lawyers showed videoof two expert witnesses who analyzed cement used by Halliburtonto plug the Macondo well and both found it unstable and said theslurry should have been remixed before it was used.
BP's final witness was Andrew Mitchell, a 40-year veteran ofthe offshore oil industry and now an International SafetyManagement Code consultant. Mitchell testified that Transocean'srig captain, Curt Kuchta, had four to eight minutes after thecrisis began in which he could have activated the well's blowoutpreventer by pushing a button mounted on the wall in the bridge.
But Transocean's "confusing command structure" meant hewaited for the offshore installation manager, Jimmy Harrell, toarrive on the bridge to activate the blowout preventer, Mitchelladded.
"The result was that Captain Kuchta did not exercise hisoverriding responsibility or authority, nor did he take the lastclear chance - the last clear chance - to save the ship, hiscrew and the environment," Mitchell said.
The day before, environmentalists and others protestedoutside the U.S. District Courthouse in New Orleans to mark thethird anniversary of the Macondo disaster, and call BP toaccount for its lingering effects.
"Despite the impression some are trying to create, thisdisaster is far from over," said David Muth, director ofMississippi River Delta Restoration for the National WildlifeFederation. The spill sent more than 4 million barrels of oilinto an "already stressed environment," he said, and affecteddolphins, nesting birds, and fish.
"Crude oil and living things don't mix very well," he said.
Speakers asked Barbier to make a finding of gross negligencefor BP, which could add billions to the Clean Water Act fines.Penalties would help pay for desperately needed coastalrestoration projects, and act as a deterrent, they added.
Billy Nungesser, the Republican Parish President fromPlaquemines Parish in New Orleans, noted he has a long historyof working with the oil industry, both in private business andas a government official, and generally found industry officialsto be much more responsive and responsible than BP has been.
"We've had many spills in my parish, small spills, and thecompanies go beyond the call of duty to clean it up, restore itand reimburse the parish," he said. "This company is giving allthe oil industry a bad name. And they're not all bad people."
BP has provided for $42 billion to cover clean-up, fines andother liabilities.
The case is In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "DeepwaterHorizon" in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20, 2010, U.S. DistrictCourt, Eastern District of Louisiana, No. 10-md-02179.
