The Deepwater Horizon Blowout and Its Preceding Incident

The Deepwater Horizon disaster, which claimed the lives of 11 men, was preceded by a similar incident involving a BP oil rig in the Caspian Sea. A BP executive witnessed a blowout on this rig back in 2010, which was purportedly covered up by BP and other oil companies to protect their interests. This earlier incident highlighted the dangerous practices and lack of safety protocols that BP would continue to employ, particularly their use of quick-dry cement, which was known to be risky. The refusal to acknowledge past failures and the desire to expedite drilling without proper safety measures significantly contributed to the tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico.