BP Internal Documents Show Concerns Over Safety of Deepwater Horizon Rig

The New York Times reported in its May 29, 2010 article, “Documents Show Early Worries About Safety of Rig,” that there were serious problems and concerns over safety in regards to the Deepwater Horizon rig. These internal BP documents show that these worries came about earlier than the company had told the U.S. Congress in May.

According to the documents, BP was having trouble with a loss of “well control.” There were concerns as far back as 11 months ago about the well casing and blowout preventer. The article reported that “BP engineers expressed concerns that the metal casing the company wanted to use might collapse under high pressure.” In one internal report, Mark E. Hafle, a senior drilling engineer at BP, warned that while this was a worst-case scenario he had seen it happen before and knew that it could occur.

Despite the warnings and safety concerns, the company pushed ahead with the casing. However, special permission had to be granted by BP colleagues due to the fact that is violated the company’s safety policies and design standards. The Times received BP documents that showed that company officials knew the casing was a risky option.

The report from Hafle wasn’t the only one that BP received. In April, company engineers decided that the casing was “unlikely to be a successful cement job,” which referred to how the casing would be sealed to prohibit gas from leaking up the well. The document also revealed that the plan for casing the well was “unable to fulfill M.M.S. (Minerals Management Service) regulations.”

If you or a family member was injured on the Deepwater Horizon, you should talk with a Board Certified maritime attorney for answers to your questions. Contact the Law Offices of Vujasinovic & Beckcom P.L.L.C. today at 877.724.7800. You can also fill out our contact form. We will provide you with a free consultation regarding your rights and legal options.

Be sure to order your copy of maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom’s book, The Most Common Questions About the Transocean Rig Explosion.