A new study from the presidential oil spill commission details behind-the-scenes tension and mistakes behind the three-month effort to cap the busted BP oil well, with a lone scientist working from a cell phone photo saving the day.
Monday’s draft report said some BP attempts to stop the gusher probably were doomed from the start. That’s because the oil giant had underestimated how much oil was spilling. Both BP and the government were unprepared for capping a blowout well and cleaning up the mess it make, the report said.
BP capped the well in July. That cap might have been yanked after a few days if it weren’t for government scientist Paul Hsieh (SHAY), who showed by analyzing a cell hone photo of pressure readings that the cap wasn’t going to cause a feared bigger spill.