A federal judge in New Orleans on Thursday rejected oil giant BP's request for a reconsideration on a previous ruling on the company's conduct in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil rig disaster.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ruled on Sept. 4 that BP committed a gross negligence and was 67 percent at fault for the spill. BP later appealed for a new trial, arguing Barbier improperly relied on the opinion of an expert witness hired by one of BP's contractors.

Barbier said Thursday in a latest order that BP itself "opened the door to this testimony" through a cross-examination of the expert.

"BP's assertions that it was 'unfairly surprised' and 'prejudiced' by the court's reliance on this testimony lack any basis in fact or law," the judge said.

The decision means BP could face close to 18 billion U.S. dollars of federal penalties.

On April 20, 2010, BP's Deepwater Horizon drill platform caught fire and exploded, killing 11 workers and triggering one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.

BP said earlier that it had already paid more than 26 billion U.S. dollars in cleanup costs and damage claims to individuals, businesses and governments.

The final phase of the oil spill case is scheduled to begin in January. The sprawling lawsuit has been ongoing for four years, but judges have not decided the exact amount of fines BP should pay. Endi

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