The cementing operation was successful as far as anyone could tell. The cement can’t take pressure until it is cured, and BP made the decision not to wait for the curing to take place.

BP leased the rig. BP hired the contractors, BP made the decisions. It was BP’s well on BP’s lease and everyone was taking BP’s orders. That’s why BP is responsible.

They are recovering the blowout preventer and bringing it up for investigation. The investigation may find that it did work as designed. There is a known weakness with BOPs, they can’t shear a drilling pipe joint. If there is a joint inside the BOP, the valve rams can’t seal.

If the drilling mud hadn’t been pulled out before the cement set, it is very possible that there wouldn’t have been a blow-out and 11 people wouldn’t have died. By pulling the mud out early, Halliburton is clear of any responsibility. BP voided their “warranty’.

You claimed that Transocean and Halliburton lied, and provided no support for that claim. You keep cheerleading BP despite clear evidence that BP is at fault.

As for the failing of US regulators – well, when you have conservatives in charge regulators never do their job, so there’s no surprise there. With two oil guys in the White House, who would expect there to be any enforcement on the energy business?

BP screwed up the cement job when they started withdrawing mud from the well only twelve hours after the cement was poured, It takes 48 to 72 hours for the cement to cure to full strength. If you walk on a sidewalk that soon you will leave foot prints.

The BOP wasn’t certified because BP insisted that it be shipped to China for reconditioning, and the Mineral Management Service doesn’t have any inspectors in China. If it had been reconditioned in Houston, as Transocean had planned, it would have been recertified as part of the reconditioning, and might not have failed.

I have covered both issues here, but you expect to be spoon-fed by people, instead of doing your own research, just like News Corps and their minions.

Your education is stunted by reading the fairy tales published in the News Corp. tabloids, like the Wall Street Journal, which was once an honest source of information.