“The Deepwater Horizon BOP was unreasonably dangerous, and has caused and continues to cause harm, loss, injuries, and damages to BP (and others) stemming from the blowout of Macondo well, the resulting explosion and fire onboard the Deepwater Horizon, the efforts to regain control of the Macondo well, and the oil spill that ensued before control of the Macondo well could be regained,” BP said in the suit.
BP vs. Cameron
April 20, 2011 by offshoreenergy
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 
In the paper on Monday the CEO of Exxon/Mobil stated that the gov’t response to the Macondo “accident” was overblown.
He also stated that it was a one time incident and that it had never happened before and would never happen again.
He also said that the cost of gasoline had risen not due to supply issues but “instability issues”. In other words, they are fearful that the Libya issues and others in that area will interrupt supplies IN THE FUTURE so they have to raise prices now. What a racket!
And I bet most readers took all the BS as gospel.
I did not : The BOP investigation is inconclusive and not concluded, no one has been charged (fines ?$ )and no one has gone to jail. Further, because of this investigation 1 year on , others assume that BOP are OK since nothing new has been learnt ?
First, when operating a 3/4 millions $ / day rig with a deficient control module (yellow pod) and a poor battery (blue pod) you are therefore with no redundancy. when systems are going wrong, suspend drilling in the safest practical ways , and fix the BOP and controls …..it’s OK it’s only 6 millions $ +to do that 🙂
Sorry it has happen before that risers disconnect could not be released in an emergency and the rig stayed there burning away… what has been done about it ?
“The blowout preventers in use today remain incapable of handling a well rupture of the force of the BP blast.”
from the Sunday NYT, 4/17, Regulation of Offshore Rigs Is a Work in Progress.
Is this flat statement correct?
Short Answer: No
A longer answer would include the usual caveats about conservative well design, BOP ratings, maintenance, proper operation, and possible obstructions in the BOP stack.
But can BOPs handle all situations?
No again, which is why training, well integrity, and risk management are critical.