Rig owner says BP decisions led to Gulf disaster
June 23, 2011, Thursday
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AN internal investigation by the owner of the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico last year largely blames oil giant BP for the disaster.
The Transocean report released yesterday said the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill was the result of a succession of well design, construction, and temporary abandonment decisions that compromised the integrity of the well and compounded the risk of its failure.
The Swiss firm said many of the decisions were made by well owner BP in the two weeks before the incident. Transocean said its evidence indicates that BP failed to properly assess, manage and communicate risk.
BP's own internal report on the disaster blamed a cascade of failures by multiple companies. Government investigations also have spread around the blame. The findings by all of the various sides will be argued about for months and perhaps years to come as numerous lawsuits make their way through court. The companies involved in the disaster have sued each other seeking to recoup their losses or expected losses from the disaster.
BP officials did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
In addition to owning the well that blew out, London-based BP was leasing the rig that exploded from Transocean. Eleven rig workers were killed and the government estimates some 206 million gallons of oil spewed from BP's Macondo well 1.6 kilometers beneath the sea before the well was capped three months later. It was the worst offshore oil spill in US history, staining hundreds of kilometers of shoreline, hurting fisherman and businesses and prompting new rules for deepwater drilling. BP has already spent or committed tens of billions of dollars to clean up the mess and compensate victims.
The Transocean report was the culmination of work by an internal investigation team comprised of experts from various technical fields and other specialists. Transocean said the loss of evidence with the rig and the unavailability of certain witnesses limited its investigation and analysis in some areas.
One of Transocean's findings state that BP "did not properly communicate to the drill crew the lack of testing on the cement or the uncertainty surrounding critical tests and procedures used to confirm the integrity of the barriers intended to inhibit the flow of hydrocarbons from the well." A hydrocarbon is a compound consisting of hydrogen and carbon that is found in oil and gas.
The Transocean report released yesterday said the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill was the result of a succession of well design, construction, and temporary abandonment decisions that compromised the integrity of the well and compounded the risk of its failure.
The Swiss firm said many of the decisions were made by well owner BP in the two weeks before the incident. Transocean said its evidence indicates that BP failed to properly assess, manage and communicate risk.
BP's own internal report on the disaster blamed a cascade of failures by multiple companies. Government investigations also have spread around the blame. The findings by all of the various sides will be argued about for months and perhaps years to come as numerous lawsuits make their way through court. The companies involved in the disaster have sued each other seeking to recoup their losses or expected losses from the disaster.
BP officials did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
In addition to owning the well that blew out, London-based BP was leasing the rig that exploded from Transocean. Eleven rig workers were killed and the government estimates some 206 million gallons of oil spewed from BP's Macondo well 1.6 kilometers beneath the sea before the well was capped three months later. It was the worst offshore oil spill in US history, staining hundreds of kilometers of shoreline, hurting fisherman and businesses and prompting new rules for deepwater drilling. BP has already spent or committed tens of billions of dollars to clean up the mess and compensate victims.
The Transocean report was the culmination of work by an internal investigation team comprised of experts from various technical fields and other specialists. Transocean said the loss of evidence with the rig and the unavailability of certain witnesses limited its investigation and analysis in some areas.
One of Transocean's findings state that BP "did not properly communicate to the drill crew the lack of testing on the cement or the uncertainty surrounding critical tests and procedures used to confirm the integrity of the barriers intended to inhibit the flow of hydrocarbons from the well." A hydrocarbon is a compound consisting of hydrogen and carbon that is found in oil and gas.
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