US oil-services giant Halliburton on Friday filed a new lawsuit against BP, the latest step in the battle over who takes blame and financial responsibility for last year's catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Halliburton... filed claims against BP in Texas state court for negligent misrepresentation, business disparagement and defamation related to the April 20, 2010, Macondo incident," the Houston-based company said.

The lawsuit was the latest litigation to emerge from the blowout of the Macondo well, which caused a blast on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 workers and spilled millions of gallons of oil into the gulf.

It was also a fresh blow to BP, which has suffered more than $40 billion in losses from the spill and has struggled to restore its sullied reputation amid ongoing investigations and lawsuits.

US-traded shares of BP sank 3.2 percent in midday trading after Halliburton announced its lawsuit.

Halliburton said in a statement on the lawsuit that it had received inaccurate information from BP about the Macondo well before performing cementing services on the well on the day before the blowout.

After the disaster, BP omitted the issue of the inaccurate information from its public statements about the incident and from materials submitted to US government investigations, Halliburton alleged.

"Halliburton has learned that BP provided Halliburton inaccurate information about the actual location of hydrocarbon zones in the Macondo well.

"The actual location of the hydrocarbon zones is critical information required prior to performing cementing services and is necessary to achieve desired cement placement," Halliburton said.

Cementing is a key process in drilling oil and gas wells, crucial to controlling well pressure and preventing dangerous blowouts.

Halliburton's statement did not say what damages the company was seeking against BP.

BP responded that it was reviewing the lawsuit and could not yet comment in detail, but accused Halliburton of seeking to cover up its own culpability for the disaster.

"BP believes this lawsuit is the latest attempt by Halliburton to divert attention from its role in the Deepwater Horizon incident and its failure to meet its responsibilities, and to deflect all blame to BP," the British firm said in a statement.

"BP will vigorously contest the claims should they come to court."

In April, on the one-year anniversary of the blowout, BP sued Halliburton for $40 billion, blaming the disaster on Halliburton's cementing job.

Friday's lawsuit appeared to be part of a counter-offensive by Halliburton, the world's second-largest oil-services company.

Besides suing BP for defamation, Halliburton also said on Friday that it was adding a fraud accusation to an existing lawsuit against BP being heard in a court in New Orleans, Louisiana.

"Halliburton remains confident that all the work it performed with respect to the Macondo well was completed in accordance with BP's specifications for its well construction plan and instructions," it said.

A presidential commission concluded that a faulty cement mix in the lining of the well contributed to the disaster.

After the blowout, some 4.9 million barrels of oil gushed out of the runaway underwater well for three months, causing widespread environmental damage in the Gulf of Mexico, before the leak was capped in July 2010.

The presidential commission also blamed the incident on management failures by BP, Halliburton and Transocean, another contractor involved in the drilling project.

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