BP’s report into the explosion published today

BP’s report into the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, and subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is published at noon today. The company is expected to admit it is partly to blame for the disaster, but will also claim that other companies must accept some responsibility.
The explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig on 20 April killed 11 workers and began a devastating spill which leaked over 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico – the largest spill in American history. The leak took three months, and a huge variety of different attempts (see interactive), to seal before BP finally closed it off on 15 July.
The ruptured oil well is still not permanently sealed, with the company announcing last week it will be two weeks before the leak is closed off for good. The leak was only allowed to occur when the blow-out preventer – the last line of defence against an out of control well – failed to activate after the explosion above the surface. Today’s report will examine why it failed, following an internal investigation into the events leading up to the explosion nearly five months ago. In July it was revealed that the blow-out preventer was modified in China in 2005.
You can follow the Guardian live coverage here
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2010/sep/08/bp-oil-spill-report-live

---