Posted on 04/30/2010 5:02:03 AM PDT by The Magical Mischief Tour
The rig belonged to and was operated by Transocearn, a US company. BP hired them to drill the well, like all major oil companies hire out.
why did BP hire them if it doesn’t own the lease?
pure good will
BP is the majority partner in the lease.
They didn’t own the drilling rig.
The eventual production platform, when the field goes into production, will be owned by them.
All this obfuscation over the subcontractor when
obama referenced this as a BP facility because BP is the majority leaseholder.
now back to my point
what oil company will ultimately be held for cost of damages and take a huge financial hit?
my bet is BP, among others- marking this to revisit in 30 days
Transocean drilled the well, placed the Blowout Preventer and had control and responsibility off the drilling operation. BP only had a few people on that rig. Those trying to blame BP for what happened do not understand who was doing what.
Yesterday’s WSJ reported the oil well did not have a remote control “last resort” acoustic switch that can shut down a well. US does not require use of this device but two other oil producers, Norway and Brazil, require them.
It is like having the main breaker trip in your house. It doesn't matter how many extra switches you have in the house. The lights are not going back on without the main panel.
Having a 3rd backup switch would unlikely have helped in this case.
Given BP’s horrid run of luck, you would think they’d insist on the very best equipment.
Thanks for giving “them” your shopping list...
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