Rigs' Parts Lack Third-Party Endorsements

According to an Associated Press report from August 31, the equipment failures blamed for the Gulf oil spill might have been detected if the owners of the Deepwater Horizon continued to have the rigs’ drilling equipment verified by independent experts — something federal regulators mistakenly thought was happening offshore. This lapse in the offshore energy industry's safety net has emerged as a key finding in the joint federal inquiry by the Coast Guard and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement into the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

(Source: Associated Press)