BP chairman rejects charges of lax safety, blames “failed” equipment for massive oil spill

BP chief: failed equipment caused explosion, spill

WASHINGTON — BP’s chairman is rejecting criticism that his company’s safety record played a role in the drilling rig explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Lamar McKay is putting the blame on “a failed piece of equipment.”

He tells ABC’s “This Week” that he doesn’t know how much oil is flowing from the well off the Louisiana coast. He says that estimates of 5,000 barrels a day are uncertain.

McKay said BP is “throwing every resource that we’ve got” to try to plug the well a mile beneath the sea.

He says he can’t say when the well might be closed. But he says he believes a dome that could be placed over the well is expected to be deployed in six to eight days.