WASHINGTON — Several days before the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon, BP officials chose, partly for financial reasons, to use a type of casing for the well that the company knew was the riskier of two options, according to a BP document.
If the cement around the casing pipe — used to line the well — did not seal properly, gases could leak all the way to the wellhead, where only a single seal would serve as a barrier.
Using a different type of casing would provide two barriers, said the document, which was provided to The New York Times by a congressional investigator.
Andrew Gowers, a spokesman for BP, said that there was no industry standard for the casing to be used in deepwater wells and that the approach by the Deepwater Horizon had not been unusual.
BP executives will likely face tough questioning about cost-cutting measures today when they testify before the House Committee on Natural Resources.
The New York Times
