Cracks Show BP Was Battling Gulf Well as Early as February

[kpete]

Source: Bloomberg

BP Plc was struggling to seal cracks in its Macondo well as far back as February, more than two months before an explosion killed 11 and spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

It took 10 days to plug the first cracks, according to reports BP filed with the Minerals Management Service that were later delivered to congressional investigators. Cracks in the surrounding rock continued to complicate the drilling operation during the ensuing weeks. Left unsealed, they can allow explosive natural gas to rush up the shaft.

“Once they realized they had oil down there, all the decisions they made were designed to get that oil at the lowest cost,” said Peter Galvin of the Center for Biological Diversity, which has been working with congressional investigators probing the disaster. “It’s been a doomed voyage from the beginning.”

BP didn’t respond to calls and e-mails seeking comment. The company’s shares rose 22 pence to 359 pence today in London after the company struck a deal with the Obama administration yesterday to establish a $20 billion fund to pay cleanup costs and compensation. BP has lost 45 percent of its market value since the catastrophe.

Read more: http://preview.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-17/bp-struggled-with-cracks-in-gulf-well-as-early-as-february-documents-show.html

[tekisui]

1. MMS knew of the cracks on Feb 13th, but did nothing.

[spotbird]

2. MMS didn't drill the well.

BP did.

MMS fucked up, but the responsibility to drill responsibly was on BP.

[tekisui]

3. I don't disagree. But the responsibility to oversee the safe drilling

of the well was on MMS.

[mrJJ]

4. MMS was a rubber stamp for big oil

Thats probably why Chris Oynes decided to leave the MMS on May 31st ... just a guess

http://www.politicolnews.com/bp-oil-lease-mms-head-resigns/

Of course he made his mark working while working under Randall Luthi

http://thinkprogress.org/interior-scandals-under-bush

[ohwinston]

5. cracks show BP was battling Gulf well as early as February

It is worth noting here that the piece as posted on DU omits
the facts that Goldman-Sachs divested itself of 4.68 million
shares of BP stock and that the former CEO of BP is now the
CEO of Goldman-
Sachs.  Or for that matter that the representative from BP who
could not answer any questions also
sold most of his stock in BP before the anticipated explosion
on 4-20-2010.

[anigbrowl]

6. uh, not actually true

Shareholdings I have not looked at, maybe you are right about that. But Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of GS, has never worked for BP - certainly not as CEO.

Please check your facts before posting. I could well believe the two companies are connected in various ways but the allegation that they had a CEO in common is just plain untrue.

[patrice]

8. I sure would like to use that, but people are going to ask for links. & Welcome to DU!

[ahlnord]

9. Tony Hayward's sales of BP stock

Tony Hayward DID sell 1/3 of his BP holdings prior to the explosion on the oil platform. He then paid off his mortgage. See the news story from the U.K. Telegraph here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/7804922/BP-chief-Tony-Hayward-sold-shares-weeks-before-oil-spill.html

[KamaAina]

7. Why in hell didn't they just cap it then and drill another one?

Oh, right.



:grr: :banghead: :argh: :nuke:

[Wilms]

10. k&r n/t

[depakid]

11. "....as far back as February"

Wow.

This stuff just keeps getting worse... makes one curious as to who the advisers were who prompted the administration to push ahead with more offshore drilling.

Bet they're not sleeping well at might- and not necessarily due to guilty consciences.