BP Report Failed to Mention Safety-Test Talk, Witness Says

Published Mar 5, 2013 9:23 AM by The Maritime Executive

BP Plc’s report about its investigation of an oil spill that fouled the Gulf of Mexico didn’t mention a conversation between two company officials about a key safety test the night of the blast, an executive testified.

BP investigators failed to cite a discussion between BP executives Donald Vidrine and Mark Hafle about well pressure safety tests on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig just before it exploded April 20, 2010, in the final report laying out the reasons for the disaster, Mark Bly, the BP executive who led the probe, testified in a trial over spill claims.

Federal prosecutors and lawyers for spill victims contend the call between Vidrine and Hafle was evidence that BP officials botched the interpretation of the pressure test and that helped cause the explosion, which killed 11 rig workers and sent millions of gallons of oil spilling into the Gulf. The test indicated the well was unstable, but neither Vidrine nor Hafle took steps to shut down drilling operations after discussing the results, plaintiffs in the case allege.

“We concluded they had this discussion and it was an after-the-fact causation,” Bly said. Other factors, including defective cement work on the project and miscues by the rig’s crew, played a larger role in causing the explosion and spill, according to the BP report.

Liability Trial

After hearing evidence in the three-month trial, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans will decide who is liable for damages over the largest offshore spill in U.S. history. He’ll also rule on whether BP, Transocean Ltd. or other companies were grossly negligent in their handling of the rig and well. His ruling in the nonjury trial will affect how much each company may have to pay.

The Deepwater Horizon blast resulted in more than 4 million barrels of oil fouling the Gulf and the shoreline of surrounding states. The accident sparked hundreds of lawsuits against London-based BP, Vernier, Switzerland-based Transocean, owner of the rig, and Houston-based Halliburton Co., which handled cement work on the well.

If well owner BP is found grossly negligent, it may be liable to the U.S. for as much as $17.6 billion in Clean Water Act fines, as well as unspecified punitive damages to claimants who weren’t part of a $8.5 billion settlement of lawsuits. For Transocean and Halliburton, a similar finding would mean they could face punitive damage awards.

Corners Cut?

The government and spill victims say BP was over budget and behind schedule on the deep water Macondo well located off the Louisiana coast, prompting the company to cut corners and ignore safety tests showing the well was unstable.

They also allege Halliburton’s cement job was defective and Transocean employees made a series of missteps on the rig, including disabling safety systems, failing to properly maintain the installation and not adequately training its crew to handle crisis situations.

BP sued its contractors, claiming Transocean employees’ miscues were the main cause of the explosion and that Halliburton concealed flaws with cement work done on the drilling project. Transocean and Halliburton countersued, pointing the finger back at BP on liability issues.

The case is In re Oil Spill by the Oil Rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, 10-md-02179, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans).

--With assistance from Laurel Brubaker Calkins in Houston and Margaret Cronin Fisk in Detroit.

PHOTO: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg