BP and firms made risky decisions before spill

Ayesha Rascoe - 

BP and its partners made a series of cost-cutting decisions that ultimately contributed to the oil spill that ravaged the Gulf of Mexico coast over the summer, the White House oil spill commission said on Wednesday.

In its final report on causes of the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, the commission said BP and its collaborators on the doomed Macondo well had lacked a system to ensure their actions were safe.

"Whether purposeful or not, many of the decisions that BP, Halliburton, and Transocean made that increased the risk of the Macondo blowout clearly saved those companies significant time (and money)," the report said.

Created by President Barack Obama in the midst of the BP spill, the panel is the first government-sanctioned group to wrap up its probe of the causes of the drilling disaster.

Charged with guiding the future of offshore drilling, the commission will release its full review of the spill and its aftermath next week.

Although the commission lacks authority to establish policy or punish companies, its conclusions could have a bearing on future criminal and civil cases relating to the spill.

The findings contradict its initial report in November, which found no evidence that Macondo project workers cut corners to save money.

After receiving criticism for that finding, the panel sought to clarify those comments, saying it did not mean companies involved with the accident had never sacrificed safety to save money.

A chart by the commission was later leaked by the media detailing decisions made while drilling the Macondo well that saved time, but increased risks.

Eventually, the panel made the document public and the final report included a similar chart.

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Photo Suzanne Plunkett

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