I am wondering about those eleven dead, and the squad of “suits” from BP who were choppered out to lean on their contractors.
How many of the BP suits died? How many of them jumped into the escape crafts and bailed out, leaving men behind (as has been reported happened.)
While a day or two--or even a week to keep a lid on things and remediate any problems would have been expensive, the indicators should have been that they had a good discovery on their hands, and at that point no one sane would want to risk losing the well.
One account I have read said that the explosion stove in the bulkhead to the area they were having the presentation, and that the injured were helped out of there to the lifeboats by those in better shape. That same account said that some guys may have been blown into the water, others caught in the fireball. Most, if not all of the suits were inside, not out on the rig, and would have been sheltered from most of the force of the blast, as well as the radiant heat, flash burns, and whatever got thrown around when it went.
It is understandable that almost no amount of training, no number of drills, will completely enable most people to deal with the mayhem and confusion of the moment, and while there were several lifeboats, in the confusion it is possible that someone might end up inadvertently left behind.
I would hope that despite the overwhelming instinct for self-preservation, none were knowingly left, and from the same account, some freed those who were pinned in the mess and took them to the lifeboats. I don't know who did what, or if any didn't, but I suppose anything bad will come out eventually, if that happened. A lot of 'suits' in the industry used to be guys who came up the ranks from worm's corner and earned those supervisory positions the hard way.
Without knowing more, I'm not one to cast dispersions on any of the living--especially if undeserved, giving someone such a reputation would cost someone their carreer, and I'd hate to even imply that someone who might well be innocent of any wrongdoing might have left men behind. If anyone did knowingly leave someone else, they will ultimately have to live with that, and I would not be in those shoes for a CEOs pay.