Renegade Refiner: OSHA Says BP Has “Systemic Safety Problem”

The Center for Public Integrity®

By Jim Morris and M.B. Pell

Two refineries owned by oil giant BP account for 97 percent of all flagrant violations found in the refining industry by government safety inspectors over the past three years, a Center for Public Integrity analysis shows. Most of BP’s citations were classified as “egregious willful” by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and reflect alleged violations of a rule designed to prevent catastrophic events at refineries.

BP Refinery Cited For Serious Safety Violations

Huffington Post

Already in the cross-hairs of federal and congressional investigators -- as well as dozens of plaintiff's attorneys -- for its role in the Gulf oil rig explosion and the spreading oil spill, BP was recently hit with some more bad news.

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Facing A Flood Of Lawsuits

Buzzy Times

Nearly 100 lawsuits have already been filed across the Gulf region, and the disaster, which lawyers envision becoming one of the biggest class actions in U.S. history, involves billions of dollars in potential liabilities.

BP knew of problems hours before blast

CNN Money

BP knew of problems with an offshore well hours before it exploded last month, spilling millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, a House committee chairman said Wednesday.

What went wrong at oil rig? A lot, probers find ‎

Associated Press
By H. JOSEF HEBERT and FREDERIC J. FROMMER

WASHINGTON — Bad wiring and a leak in what's supposed to be a "blowout preventer." Sealing problems that may have allowed a methane eruption. Even a dead battery, of all things.

Along Gulf, Many Wary of Promises After Spill

New York Times

People who live along the Gulf Coast know that a promise of money is not nearly as nice as it sounds. It means waiting and waiting, and raising a fuss, and then waiting some more, and consulting lawyers and talking to bureaucrats, and still waiting, and in some cases just giving up.

Deepwater Horizon Well Failed Key Test

Wall Street Journal

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman said Wednesday that BP PLC officials told House investigators that the Deepwater Horizon well did not pass a key pressure test the morning of the April 20 explosion.

Texas judge bars BP from destroying spill records

Associated Press

A judge in Houston has extended an order barring BP PLC, Transocean Ltd. and other parties in the Gulf oil spill from destroying documents, e-mails and other possible evidence in lawsuits.

Oil executives face U.S. Congress on Gulf spill

Originally Posted at www.reuters.com

Protesters and angry lawmakers greeted top executives of companies involved with the Gulf of Mexico's massive oil spill at a U.S. congressional hearing in which the company leaders were poised to blame each other for the unfolding environmental disaster.

BP shareholder sues executives over oil spill

Associated Press

A BP shareholder has filed suit against the corporation's top executives because of the offshore rig disaster that has led to the growing oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.