"BP managers aboard the Transocean Ltd.-owned rig misinterpreted a test of the Macondo well’s stability on April 20, deciding the test confirmed the well was in good shape, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the report’s findings haven’t been publicly released.
That positive interpretation of the test data cleared the way for rig workers to begin replacing drilling fluid in the well, which is heavier than oil and natural gas, with seawater.
The seawater was too light to prevent natural gas that had begun leaking into the well from shooting up the pipe to the rig, where it exploded and killed 11 workers. The damaged well eventually spewed more than 4 million barrels of crude into the sea, enough to fill two supertankers.
“The entire industry should not be blamed for the actions of one single individual,” John Hofmeister, chief executive officer of Citizens for Affordable Energy and a former Royal Dutch Shell Plc executive, said in an interview with Peter Cook today on Bloomberg Television’s “Inside Track.” "
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