A BP rig worker says he identified a leak in safety equipment before the explosion
Deepwater Horizon rig worker Tyrone Benton told the BBC that he identified a leak in the oil rig’s safety equipment weeks before the explosion. Benton said the leak was not fixed at the time, and that the faulty device was shut down and a second one used instead. BP said rig owners Transocean were responsible for the maintenance of that piece of equipment. Transocean countered that by saying it tested the device successfully before the accident. This is just one of the examples U.S. Congress may point to when it accuses BP of making decisions for financial reasons, putting cost ahead of safety. On Monday, BP also announced that its partners in the leaking oil well must share responsibility for the costs in dealing with the disaster. In a public statement, BP said all partners shared in liability for damage resulting from exploration. For example, Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which has a 25 per cent stake in the well, should help to pay for the spill. But Anadarko accused BP of negligence in operating the rig, and said that a joint operating agreement makes BP responsible to co-owners for damage due to negligence or willful misconduct. In another statement on Monday, BP said it has now spent $2 billion trying to stop the deep-water spill, including $105 million for 32,000 damage claims. With no end in sight, costs will continue to rise.