The Daily Glob

"Experts, Rivals Blast BP Practices"

"Monday was a relatively good day for BP in the glare of oil spill inquiries. Tuesday was a bad day.

Drilling experts and corporate rivals testifying before a presidential oil spill commission blasted BP Tuesday for decisions about the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that might have removed obstacles to the April 20 blowout that led to the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

"Criticism Runs Deep for Spill Commission Findings"

"NEW ORLEANS -- Critics of a presidential commission's preliminary findings that largely supported BP's internal probe of the Gulf oil spill questioned Monday how anyone could suggest money wasn't put ahead of safety in the days before the disaster.

'Why cut corners if it is not for money?' said Billy Nungesser, the president of oil-soaked Plaquemines Parish, La.

Nungesser also challenged the statement from the commission's chief investigator, who said he agreed with about 90 percent of what BP said in its internal report released in early September.

'I really feel for the families of these 11 victims,' Nungesser said. 'Here they are hoping and praying that their loved ones lost would set some fundamental change and protection so things would be different. If we are gonna not be honest with everybody, including the American public, about what happened and why — then these people died in vain.'

Daniel Becnel, a Louisiana lawyer suing BP and others over the oil spill, said the commission's findings about money not being a factor are 'absolutely absurd.'

'The reason is it so absurd is because BP is known to paste over safety, especially if it involved money and downtime,' Becnel said. 'They couldn't afford any more downtime on that rig.'"

Harry R. Weber reports for the Associated Press November 8, 2010.

"Criticism Runs Deep for Spill Commission Findings"

SEE ALSO:

"Oil Spill Panel: BP Didn't Sacrifice Safety for Costs" (AP)

"Factbox: Oil Spill Commission Findings" (Reuters)

"Well Acts ‘Plain Wrong’ or ‘Difficult to Explain,’ Reilly Says" (Bloomberg)

"BP Plans To Close Its US Safety Watchdog"

"BP is disbanding the external safety ombudsman it set up after the fatal explosion in 2005 at its Texas City refinery, despite the growing number of concerns raised by the oil company's employees.

"BP Lavishes Free Sports, Entertainment Tickets on CA Govt Workers"

"Petroleum giant BP's corporate sponsorship of Arco Arena has been lucrative for the Sacramento Kings during a long run that's set to end next year.

It's also been a sweet deal for state Capitol workers. Since 2000, Arco's parent company has lavished more than $430,000 in the form of free tickets to basketball games, concerts and other arena events on lawmakers, their staff members and relatives, according to a Bee review of lobbyist disclosures by BP.

'That's a huge amount of money,' said Bill Magavern, director for Sierra Club California. 'What concerns me is that the ethical bar in the Capitol has been set so low that that a company like BP could brazenly curry influence this way.'"

Rick Daysog reports for the Sacramento Bee October 11, 2010.

BP Report Roundup: "BP Spill Report Hints at Legal Defense"

"BP spent months this summer trying to contain the gusher of oil  on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico. Now the company is trying to contain the legal and financial fallout from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, and on Wednesday it released the results of an internal investigation that mostly pointed fingers at other companies.

Conducted by the company’s safety chief, Mark Bly, and a team of about 50 made up mostly of BP employees, the inquiry was initiated almost immediately after the April 20 explosion that killed 11 and spilled almost five million barrels of oil into the ocean.

The 193-page report  is part mea culpa, part public relations exercise, but mostly a preview of BP’s legal argument as it prepares to defend itself against possible criminal or civil charges, federal penalties and hundreds of pending lawsuits.

The report deflects attention from BP and onto its contractors, especially Transocean, which owned the rig, and Halliburton, which performed cement jobs on the well. It also focuses less on decisions that BP made in designing and drilling the well than on what rig workers, from Transocean and Halliburton, did in the hours leading up to the blowout."

Ian Urbina reports for the New York Times September 8, 2010.

SEE ALSO:

"In Its Report on the Gulf Oil Spill, BP Spreads the Blame" (Washington Post)

"Regret, Apology Not Part of BP's Oil Spill Report" (AP)

"Transocean, Halliburton Blast BP Report on Cause of Blowout, Oil Spill"

"The BP Report Is Out, But What About Its Methodology?" (Wall St. Journal)

"Ed Markey Swipes at Internal BP Report" (Politico)

"BP Report on Well Disaster Faults Mechanical, Human Failures" (Los Angeles Times)

"BP Internal Investigation Into Gulf Oil Spill Mostly Points Finger at Others" (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

"Halliburton Says Errors in BP Report" (Barrons)

"BP Says Transocean, Halliburton Have to Share Blame for Gulf Rig Explosion" (Bloomberg)

"BP Oil Spill Report: the Deepwater Horizon Blame Game" (Guardian)

"BP Report Pins Most of Blame on Others" (Wall St. Journal)

"Analysts: BP Report Supports Case, Buoys Investors" (AP)

"BP Report Shares Blame For Rig Explosion"(NPR)

"Backlash Against BP Spill Report" (UK Press Association)

"BP: Multiple Companies, Teams Contributed To Spill"

"Oil giant BP PLC said in an internal report released Wednesday before
a key piece of evidence has been analyzed that multiple companies and
work teams contributed to the massive Gulf of Mexico spill that fouled
waters and shorelines for months.

In its 193-page report posted on its website Wednesday, the British
company describes the incident as an accident that arose from a
complex and interlinked series of mechanical failures, human
judgments, engineering design, operational implementation and team
interfaces.

BP spread the blame around, and even was critical of its own workers'
conduct, but it defended the design of its well and it was careful in
its assessments. It already faces hundreds of lawsuits and billions of
dollars of liabilities. In public hearings, it had already tried to
shift some of the blame to rig owner Transocean Ltd. and cement
contractor Halliburton. BP was leasing the rig from Transocean and
owned the well that blew out.

The report was generated by a BP team led by Mark Bly, BP's head of
safety and operations."

Harry R. Weber, Michael Kunzelman, and Dina Cappiello report for the
Associated Press September 8, 2010.

Full Text of BP Report

    

"BP's Missing Research Money"

"In May, the company pledged $500 million for critical oil spill science. Then politics and parochialism got in the way."

"Congressman: BP 'Openly Blackmailing the American Government'"

"BP wants the federal government to meet its demand for continued access to oil and gas leases in the United States. If the oil giant can't keep drilling here, its promise to compensate victims of the Deepwater Horizon disaster might go unfulfilled—or so the company claims.

BP Plans To Release Investigation of Itself on Gulf Disaster Today

BP plans to release today its internal investigation of its own role, and any possible wrongdoing or errors by its own officials, in the Deepwater Horizon blowout disaster. Even though some key BP decisionmakers are not talking to federal investigators -- claiming ill health or the Fifth Amendment -- documents describing what they are alleged to have told BP are coming to light. BP would be legally and financially liable for whatever it finds in its self-investigation. By issuing its report before conclusions come from any government or independent investigations, BP stands to dominate the news media narrative on the disaster. James C. Mckinley Jr. reports for the New York Times September 7, 2010

SEE ALSO:

"Investigation Into BP's Other Big Gulf Operation Still Not Done" (Mother Jones)

"BP To Admit Partial Blame for Deepwater Oil Spill" (Guardian)

"BP To Release Its Report Today" (Houston Chronicle)

"BP's Internal Report on Gulf Spill Is Due" (MarketWatch)

"BP To Release Results of Investigation Into Oil Spill Disaster" (CNN)

"BP Report on Gulf Oil Disaster To Accept 'Some Blame'" (AFP)

"All Eyes on BP Report on Gulf Oil Spill Disaster" (AP)

BP Shares Up Five Cents Ahead of Report (Barrons)

"BP: Braced for Humiliation" (BBC News)

"Gulf Oil Blowout Preventer: Where Is It?"

"NEW ORLEANS — The Justice Department won't say if the blowout preventer that failed to stop oil from gushing from BP's undersea well into the Gulf of Mexico is on its way to shore. Spokeswoman Hannah August declined comment Monday. The 50-foot, 300-ton device, which was lifted to the surface Saturday, is expected to be analyzed at a NASA facility in Louisiana." Harry R. Weber reports for the Associated Press September 6, 2010.