| BP Plc's internal probe of the Gulf
of Mexico oil spill has placed some of the blame on mistakes
by its engineers while finishing the deep sea oil well, Bloomberg
has reported, citing a person familiar with the report.
The probe also blamed BP engineers for misreading pressure
data which indicated a blowout was imminent, the news agency
said.
BP managers aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig, owned by Transocean
Ltd, misinterpreted a test of the Macondo well's stability
on April 20, according to Bloomberg.
The managers decided the test results confirmed the well
was in good shape, clearing the way for rig workers to begin
replacing drilling fluid in the well - which is heavier than
oil and natural gas - with seawater.
The seawater was too light to prevent natural gas that had
begun leaking into the well from shooting up the pipe to the
rig, where it exploded and killed 11 workers, the agency said.
Nearly 5 million barrels of oil spewed into the Gulf, contaminating
wetlands, fishing grounds and beaches from Louisiana to the
Florida Panhandle.
No oil has leaked into Gulf waters since July 15, when BP
sealed shut a provisional cap over the wellhead.
BP intends to announce the findings of its internal probe
shortly, according to the agency.
Scott Dean, a US-based spokesman for BP, declined to comment
to Bloomberg on the internal report's contents.
Source - Reuters
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