A joint investigation by ABC News and the Center for Public Integrity has revealed that BP is releasing footage of the Deepwater Horizon spill at a trickle.
Throughout the clean-up effort, BP has monitored the spill site around the clock using submarine-mounted cameras at the mouth of the spill. An official at Oceaneering International, the company that operates the submarines under a contract with BP, told ABC News he "could walk right down the hall and watch it, but I can't share it without BP's express permission."
Eric Smith, a professor at Tulane University's Energy Institute said that footage could help in making independent assessments of the scope of the spill. But it also could do public relations damage to BP. It has remained closely guarded and cannot be made public under the argument that it is "proprietary," according to Coast Guard officials who have received repeated requests to release the images.
BP has a history of tightly controlling information about oil field disasters. For instance, three hours after the Texas City explosion, it already had a PR team on site.
BP has said it will release video of the underwater operations, but hasn't provided a timeline. But that didn't impress Barbara Boxer at today's hearing.
"Our understanding is there's far more than has been released," Boxer pressed after the BP executive told her it could not be retrieved." Will you get back to this committee? We would be interested in viewing those and making those public."
Considering the beating BP's image has taken lately, one would think they'd be more forthcoming.