BP Report: Everybody Screwed Up

Inquiry concludes spill was result of interwoven mistakes
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 8, 2010 7:14 AM CDT
Updated Sep 8, 2010 7:58 AM CDT
BP Report: Everybody Screwed Up
FILE - In this Sept. 4, 2010 file photo, the Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer is lifted out of the Gulf of Mexico by the Helix Q4000 near the coast of Louisiana. Before the key piece of evidence has even been analyzed, oil giant BP PLC on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2010, planned to release the conclusions...   (Pat Semansky)

BP has published its own report on what went wrong on its doomed Macondo well, and predictably, the blame gets spread around among "multiple companies and work teams." While admitting BP workers misread pressure readings, the oil giant points its finger squarely at TransOcean's rig crew and Halliburton's cement job, and says an interwoven series of mechanical failures, engineering design, and human judgments ultimately toppled like dominoes, reports the AP, which notes the report is likely a bit of self-defense, coming just days after feds took possession of a key piece of evidence: The blowout preventer.

“Based on the report, it would appear unlikely that the well design contributed to the incident," says outgoing CEO Tony Hayward. The report—almost 200 pages written by BP's safety chief—makes 25 recommendations designed to prevent another occurrence, but admits new evidence will likely follow. (More BP oil spill stories.)

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