Reply #28: It was exploration. The incident occurred at the end of the exploration process.

[Edweird]

They were in the process of capping it and abandoning for future production by another rig. All of this is out in the open and readily available to anyone with the slightest curiosity.



"Adrian Rose, a vice president of Transocean, Ltd., said workers had been performing their standard routines with "no indication of any problems" just prior to the explosion.<25> According to a Transocean spokesperson, at the time of the explosion the rig was drilling but was not in production.<26> Production casing was being run and cemented at the time of the accident. Once the cementing was complete, it was due to be tested for integrity and a cement plug set to temporarily abandon the well for later completion as a subsea producer."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spil...