Worker on smoke break missed BP explosion signs

8th Dec 2010 08:57

Indications that BP's Deepwater Horizon drill rig in the Gulf of Mexico was in trouble were missed by a technician because he took a 10-minute smoking break.Investigators looking into the explosion on April 20 that killed 11 rig workers and resulting catastrophic oil spill were told that Joseph Keith, a senior unit manager for Halliburton unit Sperry, took time out for a cigarette the night of the accident.Evidence presented to joint Coast Guard-Interior Department panel in Houston revealed that while Keith was away from his post, pressure data showed the well was filling with a mixture of explosive gas and oil.But by the time he returned the gauges were back to normal. Soon after his monitoring screens began to distort and the air-conditioner above him melted. It was then that he made his escape along with 115 others.BP's own internal investigation discovered that 40 minutes passed before the rig crew noticed danger signals."Improved engineering rigour, cement testing and communication of risk by Halliburton could have identified the low probability of the cement to achieve zonal isolation," the report claimed.The news came as one of the British firm's suppliers stands accused of obstructing the inquiry.National Oilwell Varco is failing to cooperate with the White House oil spill commission, which has requested information from the company."For over a month, we have attempted to elicit National Oilwell Varco's assistance on this matter," investigators wrote in a letter to commissioners. "They have been generally unco-operative, either in the form of refusal or delay." The company, asked to recreate what workers saw on their screens in the run up to the blast, claims "manufacturing guesses as to what was displayed on the rig's computers runs a serious risk of producing a misleading picture".