Last year's Deepwater Horizon explosion, which killed 11 people and sent millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, was the result of poor risk management and inadequate well control response, according to a report released Wednesday.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement/U.S. Coast Guard Joint Investigation Team released its final investigative report on the Deepwater Horizon explosion, loss of life and resulting oil spill on April 20, 2010.
"The loss of life at the Macondo site on April 20, 2010, and the subsequent pollution of the Gulf of Mexico through the summer of 2010 were the result of poor risk management, last-minute changes to plans, failure to observe and respond to critical indicators, inadequate well control response, and insufficient emergency bridge response training by companies and individuals responsible for drilling at the Macondo well and for the operation of the Deepwater Horizon," the report stated.
"BP, as the designated operator under [government] regulations, was ultimately responsible for conducting operations at Macondo in a way that ensured the safety and protection of personnel, equipment, natural resources and the environment," according to the report. "Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon, was responsible for conducting safe operations and for protecting personnel onboard. Halliburton, as a contractor to BP, was responsible for conducting the cement job, and, through its subsidiary (Sperry Sun) had certain responsibilities for monitoring the well. Cameron was responsible for the design of the Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer stack."
Click here for the full report.
