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I recall hearing an interview on the radio several weeks ago where an employee of the operating company described a meeting on the rig also attended by what he called "the company man"; he later said that meant a "BP representative" who had total authority to make things happen the way BP wanted.
In the interview, the first guy describes a drilling procedure being discussed and how the BP rep said that no, and that the procedure would be done differently. The first guy described how the BP procedure was recognized as hazardous by the rig workers and how a rather loud argument ensued, but with BP getting its way in the end.
I just don't remember if the contested procedure was for actually capping or drilling, but in any case, BP -- which pays the bills -- was said to act with great disregard for people and safe procedures (at least by those who worked the rig).
As a rather unhappy (and somewhat poorer) Transocean stockholder, I'm certainly tempted to heap blame and abuse on BP. But I'm refraining, and I suggest the rest of you do so, too.
What began as a thread about the quality of manuals and the failure to read them threatens to deteriorate into the rehashing of every internet rumor and allegation thrown at BP in the past few weeks. Some are demonstrably false, and others depend on the unsubstantiated claims of people who say they heard something from some anonymous source who's second cousin was there.
For instance, someone said procedures for capping the well before moving the rig weren't followed. That's true -- but that's because *the well wasn't being capped* and *the rig wasn't being moved*.
Someone else claimed that BP ordered Transocean to violate safety procedures. I'll lend credence to such claims when they're backed up by testimony under oath from the person so ordered naming the specific BP person who issued that order, and providing witnesses, emails, or other corroboration. Until then, it's just another unsubstantiated claim that could have been invented by some guy living in his mother's basement.
If this thread is to continue, I suggest focusing on the technical writing aspects, not the news or pseudo-news.
Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
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rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
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