As the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig catastrophe investigation continues, it is becoming more and more apparent the companies who participated on this rig created an atmosphere that did not focus on safety. The presidential commission in charge of the investigation has uncovered an atmosphere of, at the very best, complacency for the safety rules and regulations, and at the very worst, an atmosphere of profits over safety. Further, at this initial investigation stage it appears that more than one company contributed to one of the greatest disasters of all time.
This panel (the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling), created by President Obama one month after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, has been charged with the task of investigating the disaster, developing recommendations for preventing oil spills or, if they occur, establishing a protocol for the response to the spills. Both corporate representatives and industry experts have been called to testify in front of the panel. Hour by hour and minute by minute decisions are being pinned down, but there are still many unanswered questions. It is believed that at the time the explosion occurred, BP was temporarily plugging the well to defer oil and gas production and move the rig to another site.
It has become clear that a number of unusual occurrences and decisions led up to the moment of the explosion. As a result of the confluence of events, the explosion occurred costing numerous lives and injuring many others. The Commission’s report is due out in January, and we hope to have more answers to what occurred.