ATLANTA,None — A federal report released Tuesday on the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil disaster cites a litany of management errors and planning failures that led to the explosion of a drilling platform and a spilling of 4 million barrels of oil.
"They misread the gauges. They didn't have the cement properly tested. They didn't have a good succession of different barriers. They were looking at the current research on blowout preventers," Jay Hakes told Channel 2's Tom Regan.
Hakes is the director of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta and served as director of policy and research for President Barack Obama's oil spill panel. He also helped to author a report on the BP oil spill that was released earlier this year.
Tuesday's report, issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulations and Enforcement, said the deaths of 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon platform and subsequent oil spill were the result of "poor risk management, last minute changes to plans, failure to observe and respond to critical indicators and inadequate well control response."
Hakes told Regan the findings reflect those of President Obama's oil spill panel report.
"I was reassured that they came to the same conclusion, because if you're doing a major operation, usually you want a second medical opinion," Hakes said.
Hakes is the former head of the Energy Information Administration during the Clinton administration and assistant to Secretary of the Interior Cecil Andrus during the Carter administration. He has written books on off-shore oil exploration and development.
Hakes told Regan regulations and new technologies are in place to reduce the risk of another major oil spill. He also said marine life along the Gulf coast is rebounding.
"It may take several years for the oyster industry to recover. So it's important they be compensated on a multiyear basis. But in general, you can be confident testing procedures are in place so the seafood should be fine," said Hakes.
WSBTV
