BP (NYSE:BP) Oil Partners Point Fingers At Hearing

There was a Senate Subcommittee hearing yesterday, BP's (NYSE:BP) oil partners in the Macondo Well distanced themselves from BP. Its investment partners are Anadarko, who owns a 25 percent stake and Mitsui owning a 10 percent stake in the well. Both companies are pointing the finger back to BP who's stake is 65 percent, saying the company was negligent in the days leading up to the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon.

James Hackett, chief executive of Anadarko said, "Our view is that this accident was preventable." They insist there is public information that clearly shows BP's negligent behavior and willful misconduct. Which Anadarko expects will clear them of all responsibility. While Mitsui has stated that they will wait until investigations are complete before making any decisions on payments.

At the hearing, executives for both companies said they were prepared and would pay if obligated. Both companies did make clear though that the procedure in cases like this put the financial responsibility upfront on the operating partner, which would be BP. Then seek contributions from the non-operating partners.

BP has billed its partners over $1 billion so far but the companies are refusing to pay. Members of the subcommittee were not pleased and said that Anadarko and Mitsui should, at the very least, set up escrow account to prove they have the funds and are wiling to pay.

Day Two of BP (NYSE:BP) Oil Spill Hearing: Proof of Negligence

Up to this point, there has been many accusations and speculation that BP (NYSE:BP) was negligent in their operations and safety at the Macondo Well. The proof came from an internal report that was brought to an investigative hearing in Kenner, Louisiana.

Two days prior to the massive explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, BP was told that there may be a problem with natural gas leaking from the Macondo Well. The warning came from a contractor on the rig employed by Halliburton. A BP well site leader Ronald Sepulvado, told the panel that he had received a different report on April 15th but not on April 18th, which warned of gas flow risks.

He also stated the workers became aware of a leak in the hydraulic system, which control the blowout preventer. In an emergency, the blowout preventer is responsible for shutting down a well. On the Deepwater Horizon Rig, the blowout preventer failed at shutting down the well.

Sepulvado continued saying, he was aware of an audit in April that showed the Deepwater Horizon's blowout preventer was well past due for a major inspection. He raised concerns to Transocean about maintenance of the blowout preventer, saying some equipment pieces were out of service for long periods of time. Transocean's response to him was they, "always told me they didn't have the parts."