Workers on doomed BP oil rig: Corners were cut to save money

Real Clear Markets ^ | 05/28/2010 | Ben Evans And Mike Kunzelman

[SeekAndFind]

Two workers injured when an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico told Congress on Thursday that the companies in charge of the doomed drilling operation cut corners and neglected maintenance in a race toward higher profits.

Oil has been spewing since the Deepwater Horizon blew up off the coast of Louisiana April 20, killing 11 workers. More than 100 others escaped.

"They gambled with our lives," laborer Stephen Stone told the House Judiciary Committee. He said the accident was "set in motion years ago by these companies needlessly rushing to make money faster, while cutting corners to save money."

The rig was owned by Transocean Ltd. and operated by oil giant BP PLC.

But the Transocean employee in charge of drilling said at a separate hearing near New Orleans that he never felt pressure to accelerate the pace at the expense of safety.

"Not at all," Jimmy Harrell, the rig's offshore installation manager, told a panel of Coast Guard and Minerals Management Service officials.

MMS official Jason Mathews, one of the panelists who questioned Harrell, noted that the project was several weeks behind schedule, a delay that had cost more than $20 million at a daily rate of $525,000.

"I'm sure at times people want to get it done and meet timelines, but (we) never jeopardize safety," Harrell responded.

Harrell also denied reports he engaged in a "heated debate" with a BP official on the day of the accident over a decision to displace drilling fluid with seawater in the rig's riser pipe. Seawater would have provided less weight to counteract the surging pressure from the ocean depths.

"There's a big difference between an argument and a disagreement," Harrell said. "Everything was sorted out, and the proper tests were being performed."

[Tarpon]

Let me see here ... oh that’s right you already gave at the Obama campaign donor window, so here is your drilling waivers... now you be safe out there.

Don’t forget to put us on your list next election.

[jimt]

Has this been confirmed?

No, I've just heard the cementing comments said by a rig worker on the radio, so I wouldn't consider it gospel.

The BOP being inoperable seems to be confirmed, as it didn't close automatically, the people on the rig were unable to close it manually, and it clearly leaked. An operating BOP should have prevented both the explosion and some (at least) of the spill.

[SaraJohnson]

OUr CEO’s are proving to be total retards. All well “educated” in business school humanist “values”, no doubt. I remember when liberals made their long march through Universities to erase Western ethics from all education departments for future professions. Now it is showing big time. The “smart people” are formally trained to be skags. Some manage to hold onto their family’s Western ethics, but not many.