Create a free Manufacturing.net account to continue

BP: Eight Failures Led To Disaster

Lead BP investigator is saying that eight separate failures had to occur for the company's deepwater well to unleash the largest offshore oil spill in history.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The lead BP PLC investigator is saying that eight separate failures had to occur for the company's deepwater well to unleash the largest offshore oil spill in history.

At a briefing in Washington Wednesday on BP's internal investigation, Mark Bly, the chief investigator, told a room of reporters that all eight things needed to happen to cause the accident. The failures included cement that did not prevent oil and gas from entering the well and a blowout preventer that did not seal off the well.

The company's presentation at a downtown hotel was expected to last 90 minutes.

Bly also said that while the company's report was clinical and fact-based, the investigative team had "a very strong emotional feeling about the accident."

More in Operations