BP shares blame for Gulf oil spill

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BP Plc's internal probe of the deadly  blowout that unleashed the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill will assign blame to BP as well as other companies involved in the well's operations, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The BP probe, which will be released on Wednesday, is one of many launched after the blowout led to an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that killed 11 men and caused the worst offshore oil spill in history.

The Journal said the report would explain why engineers missed key signs the well was unstable, such as worrisome pressure tests.

Bloomberg published a similar report on Aug. 30, and both cited a person familiar with the matter.

BP declined comment on Tuesday.

Mark Bly, BP group head of safety and operations who ran the probe, said in May that people on the rig misunderstood one such test hours before the blast.

More than 4 million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf until July 15, when a cap on the wellhead sealed off all flow.

The US Department of Justice is conducting a criminal probe of the spill, while the US Coast Guard and the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management are running a joint probe.

BP is the well owner and operator, and hired Transocean Ltd to drill the Macondo well. Transocean owned and operated the rig.

BP also hired Halliburton Co to conduct critical cement work intended to keep the well stable.

- AP