Oil spill investigators find critical problems in blowout preventer

[cal04]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/12/AR2010051202190.html?hpid=topnews

A House energy panel investigation has found that the blowout preventer that failed to stop a huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had a dead battery in its control pod, leaks in its hydraulic system, a "useless" test version of a key component and a cutting tool that wasn't strong enough to shear through steel joints in the well pipe and stop the flow of oil.

In a devastating review of the blowout preventer, which BP said was supposed to be "fail-safe," Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on oversight, said Wednesday that documents and interviews show that the device was anything but.

The comments came in a hearing in which lawmakers grilled senior executives from BP and oilfield service firms Transocean, Halliburton and Cameron, maker of the blowout preventer. In one exchange, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) pressed BP on why it seemed to be "flailing" to deal with a spill only 2 percent as large as what it had said it could handle in its license application.

"The American people expect you to have a response comparable to the Apollo project, not 'Project Runway,' " Markey said.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Good for Markey. Puke on BP, Transocean and Halliburton.

They are all equally responsible. NONE of them did their jobs satisfactorily...