WASHINGTON — Three major oil-industry executives agreed on one thing in a pair of Senate hearings Tuesday: Someone else was to blame for the drilling-rig accident that triggered the huge oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico.
The senior executives from oil behemoth BP, offshore-drilling company Transocean and oilfield-services contractor Halliburton pointed fingers at one another in seeking to explain what caused the accident that set afire and sank the Deepwater Horizon rig, killing 11 people.
BP blamed the failure of Transocean’s blowout preventer and raised a new question about whether Transocean disregarded “anomalous pressure-test readings” just hours before the explosion. Transocean blamed decisions made by BP and cited possible flaws in the cementing job done by Halliburton. And Halliburton said it had faithfully followed BP’s instructions and that Transocean had started replacing heavy drilling mud with seawater before the well was sealed with a cement plug.
Senators, striving to become fluent in the language of offshore-drilling technology, pressed the executives to explain the failures of the exploration well and pressed BP America’s president, Lamar McKay, to explain the precise meaning of his pledge that BP would pay “all legitimate claims” stemming from oil-spill damage.
Lawmakers opposed to wider offshore drilling said they were sadly vindicated.
“The bottom line is: If you drill in the ocean, an oil spill cannot be a surprise,” said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J. “All it takes is one oil spill to destroy a coastline.”
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said: “One of my worst nightmares might be coming true.”
Congress ought to consider raising the $75 million limit on oil companies’ liability for economic damage to $10 billion, he said.
Lawmakers who favor offshore drilling worried about the damage that could be done to public support.
“We need the oil that comes from offshore to keep this economy moving,” said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., arguing that one-thousandth of 1 percent of oil produced had been spilled. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the ranking Republican on the Energy Committee, said that “under anyone’s most optimistic scenario, our nation will need oil and gas for a long time to come.”
Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., blasted the rig operator about a form it required workers to sign. It asked workers to confirm they weren’t injured even before they were allowed to see family members and prior to being seen by their own doctor, Udall said.
“It certainly left, I think in many people’s mouths, a sour taste,” he said.
Transocean chief executive Steven Newman objected to the characterization, saying the form was part of an initial investigation. “We asked our workers if they had any information related to the cause of the event, and we asked our workers if they were injured. I don’t think it is appropriate to characterize those statements as waivers,” he said.
Denver Post staff writer Michael Riley contributed to this report.
