BP has released an official 193-page report on the Gulf oil spill, but the conclusions of the company's investigation are already being viewed with skepticism by analysts. The Gulf oil spill disaster began with an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig which was being leased by BP. Eleven workers on the rig were killed, and when the structure sank to the bottom of the ocean it caused the leak that created the largest oil spill in American history.
The report outlines how a number of companies were involved in the disaster both before and after the explosion. BP designed the plans for the drilling and casing of the well, and was also responsible for various parts of the operation. Transocean was the main operator of the rig and basically charged with implementing the plans of BP. Conflicting reports have emerged about just how much control BP's "company men" had over the everyday operations on the rig. Haliburton was put in charge of the casing of the well, which involves pouring cement to create a seal around the actual pipe. Finally, the infamous blowout preventer (which should have stopped the flow of oil once an accident occurred) was built by a company called Cameron International.
In the report BP blames the Transocean crew for not responding properly once things starting going wrong on the oil rig. The report blames Haliburton for not properly cementing the well, theoretically allowing methane gas to escape and cause the explosion. The BP report blames Cameron International for the failure of the blowout preventer to stop the flow of oil. Finally, BP does place some blame on their own company, saying they should have conducted better tests of the well casing and also better maintained the blowout preventer.
Many have wondered how BP can make such broad conclusions when the blowout preventer behind the disaster was just raised to the surface days ago. In addition, BP certainly does not qualify as an unbiased investigator since they will potentially be held liable for billions more in payments based on the conclusions of the report.
While BP has agreed to pay $20 billion to the federal government to pay off claims from Gulf Coast residents, BP could still be sued privately by individuals separate from the $20 billion fund. The Gulf Coast states affected by the disaster could also pursue suits against BP. What is likely to result is a number of massive lawsuits which will likely result in billions more of damages. The report BP has released will likely be used by the company to blame other companies for the disaster, and attempt to transfer at least some of the liability for the disaster. Those receiving payments from the $20 billion federal fund are likely to see payments made relatively soon, but it could be many more years of litigation before any payments from outside the fund are made.
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