12°c Overcast
17°c Cloudy with showers
The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION
1st witness at Gulf oil spill trial says BP failed to implement safety plan for doomed rig
Protestors from the National Audubon Institute, the Gulf Restoration Network and other organizations stand outside Federal Court on the first day of the Gulf oil spill settlement trial in New Orleans, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier is scheduled to hear several hours of opening statements Monday by lawyers for the companies, federal and state governments and others who sued over the disaster. Barbier is hearing the case without a jury. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
NEW ORLEANS - BP failed to implement a new safety plan on the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon drilling rig even though the company realized a blowout in the Gulf of Mexico was its greatest danger, an expert witness for people and businesses suing the company testified Tuesday.
University of California-Berkeley engineering professor Robert Bea was the first witness at a civil trial to determine how much more BP and other companies should pay for the spill. Bea said BP PLC didn't implement a two-year-old safety management program on the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
"It's a classic failure of management and leadership in BP," said Bea, a former BP consultant who also investigated the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill and New Orleans levee breaches after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The London-based company has said its "Operating Management System" was designed to drive a rigorous and systematic approach to safety and risk management. During cross-examination by a BP lawyer, Bea said the company made "significant efforts" to improve safety management as early as 2003.
However, BP only implemented its new safety plan at just one of the seven rigs the company owned or leased in the Gulf at the time of the disaster.
Bea said it was "tragic" and "egregious" that BP didn't apply its own safety program to the Deepwater Horizon before the Macondo well blowout triggered the explosion that killed 11 workers and spawned the massive spill. Transocean owned the rig; BP leased it.
A plaintiffs' lawyer who questioned Bea showed him a transcript of a deposition of Tony Hayward, who was BP's CEO at the time of the disaster. Hayward was asked if the deadly April 20, 2010, blowout could have been averted if BP had implemented the safety management program in the Gulf.
"There is possible potential," Hayward responded. "Undoubtedly."
Bea said BP's "culture of every dollar counts" was reflected in a May 2009 email sent by BP well team leader John Guide: "The DW Horizon embraced every dollar matters since I arrived 18 months ago," Guide wrote. "We have saved BP millions and no one had to tell us."
In a report prepared for the trial, Bea concluded that BP's "process safety failures" were a cause of the blowout.
"Financially, BP had the resources to effectively put into place a process safety system that could have prevented the Macondo disaster," Bea testified.
Bea said he had warned BP management several years before the Gulf rig explosion that "culture is key" to the company's ability to operate safely. Bea said the company didn't heed his warnings.
"You still don't get it," he recalled telling BP officials in 2007. "You have not implemented any recommendations. Process safety is deadly serious, and you've turned it into a travelling roadshow."
During cross-examination, Bea said those remarks were in response to a skit that BP presented at a conference that didn't reflect his views on safety management.
As he questioned Bea, BP attorney Mike Brock recited a long list of steps that BP took to improve safety, citing them as evidence that the company wasn't "cutting corners in the area of safety."
Bea's testimony opened the second day of a civil trial that could result in BP and its partners being forced to pay billions of dollars more in damages. The case went to trial Monday after attempts to reach an 11th-hour settlement failed.
The second witness slated to appear is Lamar McKay, president of BP America, but it wasn't clear if there would be time for his testimony Tuesday. Other BP officials were expected to give videotaped testimony.
In pretrial depositions and in a report, Bea argued along with another consultant that BP showed a disregard for safety throughout the company and was reckless — the same arguments made in opening statements Monday by attorneys for the U.S. government and individuals and businesses hurt by the spill.
Attorneys for BP tried to block Bea's testimony, accusing him of analyzing documents and evidence "spoon-fed" to him by plaintiffs lawyers. BP accused Bea and another expert, William Gale, a California-based fire and explosion investigator and consultant, of ignoring the "safety culture of the other parties" involved in the spill, including rig owner Transocean Ltd.
Gale does not appear on a list of potential witnesses.
Just last year, Bea testified for plaintiffs who sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over broken levees in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
In the BP case, U.S. Justice Department attorney Mike Underhill said Monday that the catastrophe resulted from the company's "culture of corporate recklessness."
"The evidence will show that BP put profits before people, profits before safety and profits before the environment," Underhill said. "Despite BP's attempts to shift the blame to other parties, by far the primary fault for this disaster belongs to BP."
Brock, the BP attorney, acknowledged Monday that the oil company made mistakes. But he accused Transocean of failing to properly maintain the rig's blowout preventer, which had a dead battery, and he claimed cement contractor Halliburton used a bad slurry" that failed to prevent oil and gas from travelling up the well.
BP has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other criminal charges and has racked up more than $24 billion in spill-related expenses, including cleanup costs, compensation for businesses and individuals, and $4 billion in criminal penalties.
One of the biggest questions facing U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who is hearing the case without a jury, is whether BP acted with gross negligence.
Under the Clean Water Act, a polluter can be forced to pay a minimum of $1,100 per barrel of spilled oil; the fines nearly quadruple to about $4,300 a barrel for companies found grossly negligent, meaning BP could be on the hook for nearly $18 billion.
___
Follow Kunzelman at https://twitter.com/Kunzelman75
More The Green Page
- Back to Top
- Return to The Green Page
More The Green Page
(1 of 23 articles for this week)
Kinder Morgan takes next step in its Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion plan
05/24/2013 6:41 PM 0Kinder Morgan Canada's proposal to increase the capacity of its Trans Mountain pipeline calls for 30 oil tankers a month ...
Poll
Most Popular The Green Page
- Ocean fertilization project leader fired, but First Nation still backs iron dump
- Vancouver Aquarium breeds endangered frogs, plans to release amphibians
- Sunk? No reports of drifting ghost ship Lyubov Orlova in more than two months
- Warm weather with cool breaks forecast for Canada this summer
- Spray ban may be coming
- Coast guard will lower subsea bags to seal leaking shipwreck off Newfoundland
- Logging begins near Vancouver Island's pristine Juan de Fuca Marine Trail
- Calif. bill sought to require product makers to reduce plastic trash polluting the ocean
- Cleanup of the Buchans mine in Newfoundland moving into its final phase
- Seal hunt off Newfoundland called best in years as protesters push for its end
- Warm weather with cool breaks forecast for Canada this summer
- Boreal Forest conservation negotiations end in failure after three years
- Ocean fertilization project leader fired, but First Nation still backs iron dump
- Vancouver Aquarium breeds endangered frogs, plans to release amphibians
- Wildfire west of Edmonton forces 200 people from homes, another 200 on alert
- Sunk? No reports of drifting ghost ship Lyubov Orlova in more than two months
- Boil water advisory affecting 1.3 million people in Montreal lifted
- More than 91,000 litres of oil spilled from derailed Saskatchewan train
- Spray ban may be coming
- White beefalo has new home to roam at Saskatoon's Forestry Farm exhibit
- Warm weather with cool breaks forecast for Canada this summer
- Emergency management officials waiting for water levels to rise in Regina
- Flooding prompts three Saskatchewan communities to declare states of emergency
- Navy warship fuel spill into Halifax harbour described as "significant"
- Technology will be key to conquering climate change in long run, Harper says
- Harper heads to New York to face grilling on Canada's environmental record
- Boreal Forest conservation negotiations end in failure after three years
- Ocean fertilization project leader fired, but First Nation still backs iron dump
- Purchasing power: Five ways consumers can be more socially conscious in shopping
- Former Liberal prime minister intends to let Americans know the benefits of Keystone
- Warm weather with cool breaks forecast for Canada this summer
- Vancouver Aquarium breeds endangered frogs, plans to release amphibians
- Warm weather with cool breaks forecast for Canada this summer
- 10th Saskatchewan community declares flood emergency; Regina residents told to prepare
- Better oil price needed for emissions controls to work: environment minister
- Harper heads to New York to face grilling on Canada's environmental record
- More money may be needed for heritage area along Manitoba-Ontario boundary
- Sandbags filled, barriers ready as Saskatchewan communities prepare for flooding
- Purchasing power: Five ways consumers can be more socially conscious in shopping
- Ship that sank in 1985 likely source of small oil slicks off Newfoundland
- Liberal Justin Trudeau praises Alberta premier for Keystone efforts, pans Harper
- Vancouver Aquarium breeds endangered frogs, plans to release amphibians
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.