Feds say BP ultimately responsible for oil spill

Going further than any other investigation has yet gone, a report released today by the federal government places ultimate responsibility on BP for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history and for the deaths of 11 rig workers. The report is especially critical of the cement seal that was put in place the day before the explosion that triggered the spill. In the days leading up to the April 20, 2010, disaster, the report says, BP made a series of decisions that complicated cementing operations, added risk, and may have contributed to the ultimate failure of the cement job. The report also notes that Transocean, as owner of the Deepwater Horizon, was responsible for conducting safe operations and for protecting personnel onboard. BP, and in some cases its contractors, violated seven federal regulations at the time of the incident, including the failure to take necessary precautions to keep the well under control at all times, to perform a cement job that kept the oil and gas down hole, and to maintain the blowout preventer. To read an overview of the report’s findings, read a Times-Picayune story here. For those with more time on their hands, the full 217-page report is available here.