Despite fed insistence, BP exec avoids saying if relief wells will be used to end Gulf spill

BP exec avoids question on relief well completion

HOUSTON — BP officials testifying during a hearing in Houston were unwilling or unable to provide a clear picture of the company’s heirarchy or say who was in charge of the rig leased by the oil giant the day it blew up.

Federal investigators became visibly annoyed Thursday, with U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Hung Nguyen saying, “Everybody in charge, nobody in charge.” Nguyen is co-chairman of the investigative board.

However, BP senior vice president Kent Wells said he disagreed. He explained that BP instilled a companywide safety culture that ensured every employee felt responsible.

Attorneys and the joint panel of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement spent the bulk of the hearings seeking basic information about BP’s personnel structure.