BP, partners face multiple probes
2010-09-05 20:10
New Orleans - With a key piece of evidence raised from the depths of the Gulf of Mexico and BP's Macondo well ruled a threat no longer, the focus is shifting back to what went wrong and who is to blame.
Workers have retrieved the failed blowout preventer from BP's Macondo oil well, giving US investigators a key piece of evidence as they probe the reasons behind the biggest maritime spill yet.
The raising of the giant safety valve from the depths of the Gulf of Mexico will allow experts to study the device to determine why it crucially failed to shut off the well when BP's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20.
The US official overseeing the spill response said on Saturday the busted well, which gushed millions of barrels of toxic crude during a months-long leak, "does not constitute a threat to the Gulf of Mexico at this point".
The assessment, nearly seven weeks after the flow of oil was first stanched, will bring relief to a region that watched with despair and frustration as an estimated 4.9 million barrels of crude leaked into the ocean.
Congressional and criminal
But the reckoning for the firms involved in the catastrophe is only just beginning, as devastated communities seek compensation and the US government probes who was responsible.
The leak began with an April 20 explosion that ripped through the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig, killing 11 workers. The platform sank two days later, and by April 24, the Coast Guard confirmed crude was leaking into the sea.
The extent of the disaster would not be understood for months, when estimates of the leak's size were finally raised from initial figures of 1 000-5 000 barrels a day to between 35 000 and 60 000 barrels.
The flow rate is among the aspects of the disaster being examined in public hearings, court cases, congressional inquiries and a criminal investigation being carried out by the US Department of Justice.
BP is a prime target for the investigations, which are also probing the roles of other firms, including Halliburton, which cemented the well, Transocean, which leased the rig to BP, and Cameron International, which supplied the blow-out preventer, the valve that should have sealed the well after the explosion.
'False statements'
The device has now been raised from the leak site, about 5 000 feet below the sea surface, and will be the subject of a fifth hearing next month before a joint investigation board appointed by the US Homeland Security and Interior Departments.
The panel is expected to produce a final report in January 2011. It cannot charge individuals or firms, but can refer any allegations of criminal conduct to the Justice Department, which is already conducting its own criminal probe.
Attorney General Eric Holder said the department would examine "a wide range of things from false statements to the way certain entities have conducted themselves".
The inquiry will also examine potential violations of multiple environmental regulations, including the Clean Water Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Damages
The spill washed up in all five Gulf states - Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Louisiana was particularly hard-hit, with thick crude clogging its fragile wetland ecosystems.
Environmental groups are among those who have already filed lawsuits against BP and other firms implicated in the disaster.
The state of Alabama has also filed suit, along with hundreds of individuals who suffered financial losses in the wake of the spill.
About 77 cases have been consolidated and will be heard before a judge in Louisiana, and over 200 more could be added.
The firms involved in the spill also face congressional scrutiny, with an array of Senate and House of Representatives committees working to determine who was at fault.
At the forefront of their efforts is Representative Ed Markey, who has pushed BP to accept government estimates of the amount of oil that leaked from the well each day.
Those estimates will be key to determining how large a fine BP will pay over the spill, with Markey saying they could be assessed between $1 100 to $4 300 per barrel spilled.
- SAPA