Blame Dispersants

On Wednesday, BP issued a 193-page report that blamed the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster on "a complex and interlinked series of mechanical failures, human judgments, engineering design, operational implementation and team interfaces” by its own staff as well as rig operator Transocean, cementing company Halliburton, and Andarko--BP’s main partner on the Macondo well.

Transocean and Halliburton quickly blasted BP’s internal investigation, claiming it unfairly paints them as equally responsible for the disaster. That’s not surprising, since the companies have a lot at stake: The stock prices of BP, Halliburton, Transocean, and Anadarko each sank between 25 and 45 percent during the past four months, with the threat of fines and criminal penalties hovering over all involved parties.

The finger-pointing won’t be over for some time. Investigations by the U.S. Coast Guard and a presidential commission are under way, as well as a criminal inquiry by the U.S. Justice Department.

--Reed McManus