A federal judge has delayed the second phase of BP Plc's oil spill trial, the Associated Press reports.

The second phase was supposed to begin on Sept. 16 but will now start Sept. 30.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier moved the date on Friday, so that the parties could have more time to prepare, the AP said.

The first phase of the trial, which started in February, was intended to determine the cause of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout and which companies are at fault. The first phase ended April 17.

The second phase is designed to determine how much oil seeped from the well into the Gulf of Mexico during the spill. Once the size of the spill is determined, the size of company pollution fees can be determined.

If the case is carried out and not settled, Barbier could decide how much more money BP and its contractors owe, the AP said.

Read the full story at the Houston Business Journal>>