Today’s public hearing by the National Oil Spill Commission has been a good education for anyone who has read bits and pieces about the various investigations into the explosion of BP’s Macondo well, but still felt they did not have a complete understanding of how the whole drilling process works.
Fred Bartlit, chief counsel, came prepared with numerous high-tech slides and graphics that explained every detail of the well, how it was drilled and what might have gone wrong.
What he did not do was apportion blame. Mr Bartlit said that was not his role. The commission is supposed to make recommendations in January on the best ways to prevent and respond to major offshore oil spills.
Nonetheless, he has offered a few conclusions that will figure into the various lawsuits into who is to blame for what in the April 20 disaster that left 11 dead and 17 injured.
