Why 11 men dying and oil spilling into the Gulf could be BP's fault

[Ben Lahnger]

There's a lot of finger pointing between BP (British Petroleum), Transocean and Halliburton as to who is responsible for the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, the sinking of that rig, the death of 11 men and the subsequent ecological disaster that has resulted from thousands of barrels of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico. Each company has blamed the other companies involved. However, the investigative piece that aired on 60 Minutes on Sunday night added some clarity to this matter, and on Monday Rachel Maddow broke it down for us.

Also, late in this piece is her explanation about the additional potential threat posed by another rig drilling another 100 miles out, the Atlantis, which was approved for operation and put online in a location where it is drilling several thousand feet deeper than where the current disaster occurred. The problem is that Atlantis was approved for operation without BP reviewing the final design blueprints. An inside whistle-blower claims this could mean the rig may be unsafe, and an accident similar to what we have now but several thousand feet deeper would be even harder to deal with.

Here's the video:

Rachel Maddow- BPs haste lays waste to Gulf waters

That's pretty jacked up. There's definitely not enough oversight in this industry. If it is proven that BP's shortcut in wanting to remove the heavy drilling fluid from the well before planting the third plug and over-riding Transocean's manager's safety concerns caused those deaths and this disaster, they shouldn't just have to pay expenses ... there should be a punitive cost.

[Corpsey]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

That's pretty jacked up. There's definitely not enough oversight in this industry. If it is proven that BP's shortcut in wanting to remove the heavy drilling fluid from the well before planting the third plug and over-riding Transocean's manager's safety concerns caused those deaths and this disaster, they shouldn't just have to pay expenses ... there should be a punitive cost.

Don't worry, BP promise that no matter how high they have to raise Oil prices, they will pay all of the expenses required of them.

I find the whole situation appalling as to what has actually happened and that nobody will front up and that instead they will all attempt to place the blame on each other. Of course it is the smarter thing to do but I find it disturbing.

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

If it is proven that BP's shortcut in wanting to remove the heavy drilling fluid from the well before planting the third plug and over-riding Transocean's manager's safety concerns caused those deaths and this disaster, they shouldn't just have to pay expenses ... there should be a punitive cost.

Originally Posted by Corpsey

Don't worry, BP promise that no matter how high they have to raise Oil prices, they will pay all of the expenses required of them.

Well, I should have elaborated more , but by "punitive cost" I was thinking of more than just a cash outlay.