In an interview due to air tonight on AC360, several survivors of the Oilmageddon explosion portrayed BP, and to a lesser extent Transocean, as being disturbingly cavalier about safety.
In the most disturbing part, the survivors hint at one possible cause of the disaster--a potentially catastrophic decision by BP's company man.
The BP official wanted workers to replace heavy mud, used to keep the well's pressure down, with lighter seawater to help speed a process that was costing an estimated $750,000 a day and was already running five weeks late, rig survivors told CNN.
BP won the argument, said Doug Brown, the rig's chief mechanic. "He basically said, 'Well, this is how it's gonna be.' "
"That's what the big argument was about," added Daniel Barron III.
The workers also said that despite Transocean's stated policy that even the lowliest roughneck has stop-work authority, voicing safety concerns was a firing offense. For instance, Transocean once ordered a crane to keep operating despite high winds.
Transocean's safety practices have lawmakers concerned as well.
In Washington on Tuesday, Rep. Nick Rahall, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, sought more answers. In a letter to Transocean, he said records from the rig indicate "zero engineers, electricians, mechanics or subsea supervisors" on duty the night of the explosion. He added that payroll records show seven of the 11 men who died had worked a 24-hour shift six days before the explosion.
Brown said that Transocean refused to hire more mechanics even when the rig aged and the engines started acting up.
The workers also recalled what happened when the rig exploded. One of them said he knew this was a massive disaster when he saw flames shooting 150 feet in the air. Although he was trained to fight fires on the rig, he knew there was no way they could put it out and decided to get the hell out of Dodge. And after this, BP tried to make them say they didn't see anyone get hurt? Disgraceful.
This story is yet more proof that someone needs to be in an orange jumpsuit.