As the investigation into the April 20 oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico continues, executives from the oil industry testified Tuesday before the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The three companies represented at the hearing were the well’s owner, BP; Halliburton, a drilling operations contractor; and the rig’s owner, Transocean.
Each company tried to pin the blame on someone else, the Wall Street Journal reports. The president of BP America said Transocean was responsible for the rig’s safety. Transocean blamed Halliburton, which had not yet installed a final cement plug in the well when the blast occurred. The plug is designed to prevent gas from escaping the pipe to the surface and is usually placed before heavy drilling fluid is removed. In this case, however, the fluid was removed first. Halliburton said Transocean was ultimately responsible for the integrity of the cement work.
Senators also questioned the Minerals Management Service for its oversight of drilling equipment. The rig’s blowout preventer, which should have stopped the explosion, was certified by the MMS despite its failure. Sen. Bob Menendez, D.-N.J., asked, “Why is it that the testing always seems to pass and yet when it is needed it failed?”
Representatives from MMS were not at the hearing, but the agency may be getting a major overhaul soon. White House officials announced Tuesday that the regulatory agency may be split into two separate bodies — one to regulate equipment and one to issue leases and collect royalties, The New York Times reports.
The agency’s royalty collection arm is the government’s biggest revenue generator after corporate and income taxes. An average of $13 billion a year is collected from oil and gas royalties and fees. The spill in the Gulf of Mexico has reinforced concerns about a conflict of interest when the same agency both encourages and regulates oil and gas exploration.
Scandals involving the MMS, which is a part of the Interior Department, in recent years included drug use and sex with officials from oil companies. The Interior Department’s former inspector general called the agency an ethical wasteland.
Related: BP Struggles to Stop Gulf Oil Leak, Blames Rig Owner
