Congressional Investigation, BP Oil Spill: BP Had No Contingency Plans for Catastrophic Loss of Well Control

During its first of what will prove numerous lengthy hearings in the coming weeks and months, the Congressional committee on energy and commerce found that BP was not prepared for a catastrophic loss of well control.

The committee found also that BP failed to properly test or maintain the blowout preventer whose failure allowed wellhead pressure to overwhelm the rig. The blowout preventer's failure allowed a large volume of gas to overwhelm the rig, igniting an explosion and fire that quickly toppled the rig and destroyed the riser pipe connected to the wellhead a mile below the water's surface.

Citing BP design choices for the rig that compromised safety, cement design choices that didn't comply with accepted industry best practices, and warnings of pressure problems that approached catastrophic levels up to 24 hours before the explosion, the committee began gearing up for a fuller investigation into BP's culpability,

Supported by killed oil rig workers' wives' testimony, the committee also took testimony from fishermen who lost their livelihoods to the spill, and from health care workers who have noted BP's failure to adequately protect spill cleanup workers.

Listen to the hearing.

Source: Subcommittee Field Hearings, Congressional Committee on Energy and Commerce.