BP Kept Drilling After Report of Leak, Worker Says

[kpete]

Source: New York Times

BP Kept Drilling After Report of Leak, Worker Says
By ROBBIE BROWN
Published: July 20, 2010

KENNER, La. — In the final days before the Deepwater Horizon disaster, BP continued drilling for oil despite internal reports of a leak on a critical safety device on the rig, a company official testified on Tuesday.


Ronald Sepulvado, a BP well site leader, said he reported the problem to senior company officials and assumed it would be relayed to the Minerals Management Service, the federal agency that regulates offshore drilling. The leak was on a control pod connected to the blowout preventer, an emergency mechanism that failed to activate after the April 20 disaster.

“I assumed everything was O.K., because I reported it to the team leader and he should have reported it to M.M.S.,” Mr. Sepulvado said.

He could not explain why the company did not respond to his report.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/21/us/21hearings.html?_r=1

[gateley]

1. Maybe it WAS reported to the MMS -- it's not as though they were doing their job

other than ensuring plans were in place to protect the walruses in the Gulf.

[Angry Dragon]

2. And sea lions I believe

bp will claim that they can not be held accountable for killing any wildlife because
they only claimed they would be careful of walruses and sea lions and none of them were killed

[gateley]

3. Ya know -- Nothing would surprise me. Their audacity is endless and chronic. nt

[naaman fletcher]

4. Really?

I hadn't heard that one. wow.