On Doomed Rig, There Was 'Nobody in Charge'

Published May 28, 2010 | The Wall Street Journal

AP

Apr. 21: An oil slick is seen as the Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in the Gulf of Mexico.

In the minutes after a cascade of gas explosions crippled the Deepwater Horizon on April 20, confusion reigned on the drilling platform. Flames were spreading rapidly, power was out, and terrified workers were leaping into the dark, oil-coated sea. Capt. Curt Kuchta, the vessel's commander, huddled on the bridge with about 10 other managers and crew members.

Andrea Fleytas, a 23-year-old worker who helped operate the rig's sophisticated navigation machinery, suddenly noticed a glaring oversight: No one had issued a distress signal to the outside world, she recalls in an interview. Ms. Fleytas grabbed the radio and began calling over a signal monitored by the Coast Guard and other vessels.

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BP delays attempt to plug leak with mud

White House taps Graham, Reilly to lead investigative panel

John Moore / Getty Images

Phil Radford, executive director of Greenpeace USA, inspects oil-covered reeds while visiting Venice, La., on Thursday.

By GREG BLUESTEIN

updated 32 minutes ago

ROBERT, La. - It will be at least Tuesday before engineers can shoot mud into a blown-out well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, BP said Friday in yet another delay in the monthlong effort to stop the oil that is now washing into wetlands and onto at least one public beach. 

A so-called "top kill" has been tried on land but never 5,000 feet underwater, so scientists and engineers have spent the past week preparing and taking measurements to make sure it will stop the oil that has been spewing into the sea for a month. They originally hoped to try it as early as this weekend. 

BP spokesman Tom Mueller said there was no snag in the preparations, but that the company must get equipment in place and finish tests before the procedure can begin. BP already has three deepwater rigs and other equipment near the blown-out well. 

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Oil Spill Go From Bad To Worse

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'Small portion' of slick in Loop Current - Florida Next?

Gerald Herbert / AP

This net was dipped into a marsh by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Wednesday to show the extent of the spill damage in Pass a Loutre, La. "This is heavy oil in our wetlands," he said during a boat tour.

msnbc.com staff and news service reports

updated 3:30 p.m. CT, Wed., May 19, 2010

 

WASHINGTON - The latest satellite and overflight data shows a "small portion" of the BP oil slick has reached the Loop Current "in the form of light to very light sheens," the federal government said Wednesday.

But the update also cautioned that "in the time it would take for oil to travel to the vicinity of the Florida Straits, any oil would be highly weathered and both the natural process of evaporation and the application of chemical dispersants would reduce the oil volume significantly."

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