NU Online News Service, Oct. 20, 3:55 p.m. EDT

BP Exploration & Production said it will waive a $75 millionliability cap in the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) and urges other"responsible parties" of the Deepwater Horizon disaster to do thesame.

According to court documents filed in U.S. District Court in theEastern District of Louisiana, BP reaffirmed its pledge to pay alllegitimate claims regardless of the limit established by OPA.

The oil company also used the filing to make sure the blame forthe massive oil spill was not placed solely on it.

"By making this statement, BP and its affiliates are notadmitting anything about their conduct and, indeed, specificallydeny that they are engaged in any gross negligence in connectionwith the Deepwater Horizon incident and the resulting oil spill,"the court filing reads.

There are other responsible parties for the spill, BP said,specifically Transocean Holdings LLC, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. andMOEX Offshore 2007 LLC.

The other companies involved have not waived the liability cap,but "BP urges them likewise to unequivocally waive their respectiverights to invoke the limits," the filing said.

BP said its promise to pay all legitimate claims will not beaffected by whether the other companies waive the cap, but it"reserves the right to seek reimbursement or contribution fromother responsible parties and third parties" for claims andexpenses related to the oil spill.

BP said at the start of September that it had made claim paymentsof nearly $400 million during the 16 weeks it managed claimsrelated to the oil spill before transitioning its claims program tothe Gulf Coast Claims Facility.