BP CEO Tony Hayward
BP, short for British Petroleum, has denied responsibility for the massive oil spill that occurred on the East Coast of America. BP stated, they hired American contractors, companies, people, systems and equipment for the job, which was in essence outsourced to U.S. company, Transocean. However, they stated they will do the honorable thing and pay for the costly clean up.
BP: Oil rig leak 'wasn't our accident'
CEO to NBC: We'll clean it up, but rig was run by Transocean
NEW ORLEANS - Facing an unprecedented Gulf Coast environmental disaster, not to mention lawsuits, oil giant BP told NBC on Monday that while it was taking responsibility for cleaning up the giant undersea leak, the accident that triggered the disaster was not its fault.
"It wasn't our accident, but we are absolutely responsible for the oil, for cleaning it up, and that's what we intend to do," BP Group CEO Tony Hayward told NBC's "TODAY" show.
The rig that exploded on April 20 and then sank was run by another company, Transocean, he reminded viewers. That rig, he said, "was run by their people, their processes."
Hayward added that the failure of the rig's "blow-out preventer" — a device that should have shut off the well when the rig exploded and sank — was "unprecedented in our industry."
"What has failed here is the ultimate safety device on a drilling rig," he said. "There are many barriers of protection that you have to go to before you get to this. It isn't designed to not fail."
