Rig’s captain set to testify at hearing

[maddezmom]

Source: The Advocate

Curt Kuchta, the captain of the Deepwater Horizon mobile drilling rig that exploded April 20 in the Gulf of Mexico, is among the witnesses scheduled to testify this week before federal investigators in Kenner.

Today, those investigators will hear for the first time from witnesses for both rig owner Transocean and BP, owner of the well that has leaked more than seven million gallons of oil into the Gulf since the explosion.

The continuing hearings are part of a joint investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard and federal Minerals Management Service. The panel is searching for factors in the fatal explosion. Initial testimony was obtained May 11 and May 12 in Kenner, and Coast Guard officials announced that two additional rounds of hearings will be conducted after this week.

Eleven men are believed to have died in last month’s explosion and fire. Nine were Transocean employees. Two were mud engineers for drilling fluid contractor M-I SWACO.



Read more: http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/94894774.html

[era veteran]

1. Negligent homicide would be the lowest charge I'd lay on these planet rapers

and murderers.

[maddezmom]

2. Witness: BP took 'shortcuts' before well blowout

Witness: BP took 'shortcuts' before well blowoutShareThisPrint E-mail .By MIKE BAKER


The Associated Press

COVINGTON, La. — Senior managers complained oil giant BP was "taking shortcuts" by replacing heavy drilling fluid with saltwater in the well that blew out, triggering the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to witness statements obtained by The Associated Press.

Truitt Crawford, a roustabout for drilling rig owner Transocean LTD, told Coast Guard investigators about the complaints. The seawater, which would have provided less weight to contain surging pressure from the ocean depths, was being used to prepare for dropping a final blob of cement into the well.

"I overheard upper management talking saying that BP was taking shortcuts by displacing the well with saltwater instead of mud without sealing the well with cement plugs, this is why it blew out," Crawford said in his statement.

A spokesman for BP, which was leasing the rig Deepwater Horizon when it exploded April 20, killing 11 workers and triggering a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, declined to comment.

more; http://www.ajc.com/business/witness-bp-took-shortcuts-535237.html

[maddezmom]

3. Hearings: Natural conflict on rigs between oil co's and drilling crew

snip
Smith testified that there is a natural conflict on any drilling rig between the company that's leasing the rig and oilfield and the drilling operators. He said the "company man" represents a firm that leases the rig and often pays $500,000 a day to drill for the oil, so he is concerned about speed and cost. The crew, meanwhile, is generally more concerned about safety and controlling the well, he said.

"That's a natural point of conflict that I've seen," Smith said. "Some (company men) have become outright adversaries, but they're the people paying the bills. They control helicopters, the boats, what's going on and off the rig. But I have to say, most of them are safety conscious."

Survivors of the Deepwater Horizon disaster have said that BP's company man argued with Transocean drillers in the hours before the explosion over whether to remove the drilling mud, which provides a key level of protectio

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/hearings_natural_conflict_on_r.html