TPMMuckraker

BP Investigation Released: The Oil Spill Was Everybody’s Fault

An explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig

BP today released the report of its own investigation into what caused the Deepwater Horizon to explode and leak millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

We’re still digging through the 193-page report, which you can find here, along with the appendices and executive summary. But according to BP’s quick-summary press release, the company found that everyone involved had a hand in the disaster.

BP and Transocean were wrong when they thought well integrity tests showed the well was secure; Transocean’s crew didn’t react the right way when gas began flooding up the casing; the cement in the well, designed by Halliburton, failed; and the blowout preventer, manufactured by Cameron International, failed.

BP found itself absolved of accusations that its very design of the well caused the disaster.

“Based on the report, it would appear unlikely that the well design contributed to the incident,” BP executive Tony Hayward said.

Help us read the report. Leave your findings in the comments section or email us.

The full report:

BP’s Deepwater Horizon Accident Investigation Report

BP, Deepwater Horizon, Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Editor & Publisher

Josh Marshall

Managing Editor

David Kurtz

Senior Associate Editor

Paul Werdel

Associate Editor

Sara Libby

Assistant Editor

Igor Bobic

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Sahil Kapur

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Benjy Sarlin

Front Page Editor

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Poll Editor

Kyle Leighton

News Writer

Pema Levy

Video Editor

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Polling Fellow

Tom Kludt

Video Fellow

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Research Interns

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Christopher O’Driscoll

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General Manager & General Counsel

Millet Israeli

VP, Ad Sales

Mary Cadwallader

Bob Edmunds

Bruce Ellerstein

Waldo Tibbetts

Manager, Ad Operations and Sales Support

Versha Sharma

Deputy Publisher

Callie Schweitzer

Director of Technology

Eric Buth

Designer/Developer

Ni Mu

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Tech Fellow

Dennis Cahillane