In the wake of the worst ecological disaster in US waters, observers wonder who deserves to bear the blame the for the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon. In order to answer this question, people need to know certain basic facts. To begin with, they need to know that British Petroleum (BP) leased the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig from Transocean (RIG) in order to drill an exploratory oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. During the course of operations, this exploratory well blew out in the final days of the project, meaning that pressure in the well caused an unexpected flow of fluid to surge upward. One such fluid was natural gas, which exploded on the deck of the rig, causing damage that sunk the Deepwater Horizon. In the aftermath, the companies involved began pointing fingers at each other over the explosion. The more information that becomes available to the public, the clearer it becomes that BP's reckless negligence led to the sinking of Transocean's Deepwater Horizon. Using an analogy between BP and a person leasing a car can help us more clearly see why.
A person leasing a car has the right to expect that car to be safe, but does no have the right to drive that car in an unsafe manner. We can think of BP as a person renting a car, or rather a rig, from Transocean. Transocean's rig and crew represent the parts of that car, and BP represents the driver of that car. Testimony from workers on board the Deepwater Horizon proves that BP operated that rig recklessly, much like a driver operating a rental car recklessly. It was this reckless operation by BP that led to the sinking--the crash--of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.
The rig's chief mechanic testified that BP overruled objections by three Transcocean employees about lifting the heavy drilling fluid from the well column. Transocean advised BP that doing so was risky because without the heavy fluid in the well, increases in pressure could lead to a blow-out. Like a hurried driver deciding to speed through a red light, BP decided to take the risk anyway and remove the heavy drilling fluid from the well and replace it with sea water in order to save time and money. After an argument, BP made Transcocean's team lift the heavy drilling fluid on April 20th, reducing the weight on the well column and leading to a blow out later that day. This reckless and irresponsible move by BP came after weeks of putting pressure on Transocean to speed up the project, just like a driver putting pressure on the pedal of a car in order to push it faster.
The fact that BP has since tried to shift blame to Transocean shows only that BP remains an irresponsibly and reckless entity. If a driver rented a car, sped that car, then drove it through a red light, causing an accident, would we allow them to blame the rental company for their mistake? Of course not. BP seems to hope that the American people, the American Government, and lawmakers don't have the brains to understand the relationship between BP and Transocean. They hope that we don't understand that BP was calling the shots. BP hopes that they can con us into believing that another company was responsible for the well execution. Those taking orders from BP were faced with the decision to either follow BP's orders and risk their lives, or risk losing their job. 11 men died as a result and BP still wishes to blame those men. BP put pressure on people to risk their lives, and when those men did and died, BP then blamed them for its own actions. BP shows no remorse and has no sense of responsibility.
