Transocean...which owned and operated the deepwater drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, filed a legal motion...asking the federal court in New Orleans to let the company off the hook for costs related to the cleanup of the roughly 4.9 million barrels of oil that escaped from the well into the gulf last year. Transocean says that energy giant BP...which hired it to drill the well, indemnified it against pollution-related costs if a spill occurred underwater. BP has set aside about $41 billion to pay for environmental cleanup, compensation and penalties, but is seeking to get others involved in the spill to share the costs, which remain unknown...BP said that letting Transocean off the hook for cleanup costs "would be inconsistent with the law and sound public policy." In a statement...BP added that "to enforce the indemnification would be to allow Transocean to escape the consequences of its actions and avoid meeting its obligations in the Gulf." [also refers to Anadarko, Halliburton, Mitsui]