BP's latest experimental bid to plug its seabed oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico hung in the balance early Wednesday as its top executive reviewed overnight tests before deciding whether to go ahead.
Chief Executive Tony Hayward said on NBC's "Today" show he would decide Wednesday morning whether to give the green light for crews to try to choke off the massive leak a mile below the sea by force-feeding it heavy drilling mud and cement. The spill started with an April 20 explosion and fire that sank the oil rig Deepwater Horizon and killed 11 workers.
Testimony ahead of a hearing Tuesday and BP's own internal investigation showed there were warning signs of problems before the blast. One rig worker said managers from rig owner Transocean Ltd. worried that day that BP, which ran the operation, was not taking the right steps to contain the pressure.
Senior Transocean managers complained April 20 that BP was "taking shortcuts" by replacing heavy drilling fluid with seawater in the well, according to sworn testimony by Truitt Crawford, a rig roustabout. BP was leasing the rig and is responsible for stopping the leak and the cleanup.
The seawater was being used in preparation for dropping a final blob of cement into the well as a temporary plug for the pipe. Workers had finished pumping the cement into the exploratory well to bolster and seal it against leaks until a later production phase.
Crawford said seawater would provide less weight to contain surging pressure from the ocean depths. His testimony was expected to be part of a hearing in New Orleans. A BP spokesman declined to comment on what he said.
Dozens of worker statements obtained by The Associated Press describe the hours and minutes before the sudden, violent blowout and many said they were concerned about the pressure coming from below.
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