Member Center

BP employee says he reported well safety problem

Posted: Jul 20, 2010 12:39 PM
Updated: Jul 20, 2010 12:39 PM

NEW ORLEANS (AP) An employee on BP's blown-out oil well tells government investigators he reported a leak of hydraulic fluid from a critical safety device but doesn't know if federal regulators were notified.

Government investigators are trying to determine whether BP missed the leak in the blowout preventer, which could have averted the April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers and loosed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Ronald Sepulvado, a BP well site leader, tells a panel of government investigators Tuesday in suburban New Orleans he told his supervisor about the leak weeks before the explosion.

But Sepulvado says he doesn't know if the supervisor told federal regulators, as required.

Topics: Gulf Oil Spill