Oil rig blowout stemmed from systemic management problems, oil spill commission says

Oil rig blowout stemmed from systemic management problems, oil spill commission says


"The blowout was not the product of a series of aberrational decisions made by rogue industry or government officials that could not have been anticipated or expected to occur again," says the commission's final report, released late Wednesday. "Rather, the root causes are systemic and, absent significant reform in both industry practices and government policies, might well recur."

That conclusion could prove devastating to the oil and gas industry, which is waiting with bated breath to see whether a new regulatory agency will issue new drilling permits in time for idle rigs currently under contract through the spring to return to work in the Gulf of Mexico.

The chapter of the report focusing on what caused the April 20 blowout makes it clear that poor management, mostly by BP, doomed the rig, leading to the death of 11 rig workers and considerable damage to the Gulf from nearly 5 million barrels of spilled oil.




http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/01/oil_spill_commission_blowout_s.html