BP's non-compliance and other stories

The US Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement are holding hearings into the Deep Horizon oil rig explosion. The Times-Picayune reports:

"The Deepwater Horizon's blowout preventer -- the key device for shutting off a wild oil well -- had a leak in the days before it failed to operate and BP did not comply with a federal regulation requiring the rig to suspend operations, a BP company man testified Tuesday."

- source: NOLA.com

And a followup comment from the Oil Drum:

"John Guide, BP's Well Team Leader, appears to be auditioning for criminal charges if anyone is. He not only failed to report the leaking BOP. He is the guy who over-rode BP engineers and Haliburton on the cement job and ordered them to proceed with 6 centralizers instead of the 21 Haliburton said was needed to ensure safe cement job.

BP's Drilling Engineering Team Leader Gregory Waltz was so concerned with what Brial Morel was about to do with his idea that the pipe would hang straight in the hole under gravity that he brought the issue to Guide's attention advising that they go with 21 centralizers. Waltz even went to the trouble of lining up all the needed centralizers and a plane to fly them to the rig the next day. Waltz noted that given their choice of casing design, they needed to listen to Haliburton to honor thier own risk modeling.

Guide did not care. All he cared about was saving a few bucks."

- source: The Oil Drum

I would not like to be in John Guide's shoes!