. >> i think the united states and then the north sea countries have the most mature regulatory structure because that is where it has taken place along this. those -- has taken place above longest. for exxon, believe to be is the best practice and apply it globally. it does not matter where you are. you have a well controlled incident, you need to use the best you have everywhere. we do not make some distinction that i will cut a corner in this country because i can. >> i know in the north sea when they had an accident in 1988 and 100 -- 180 people were injured. changes were made to split the enforcement agency, similar to what the administration is now proposing with the mms. that is a better structure? >> i do not know if the structure is as important as the process by which the oversight occurs. >> i am not sure i can grade all of the differences. >> one model should we be looking at? >> we start with the regulations in each country and then we apply our standards on top of those regulations. they are very similar. the application of our processes and procedures are very similar in al

>> the greatest part of our experience and operation has been in the north sea. particularly norway and the united kingdom. and in norway and the united kingdom, especially developed some of the best practices that are applicable and used around the world. so based on our experience for several decades, those best practices and oversight review have been applied and used in the industry and other places of the world. so i would say that they rank quite up at the top in terms of capability and development of practices. >> mr. odom? >> similar answer in that i think the u.s. has the most comprehensive set of recommendations for the industry in the world. you can find other areas where a particularrregulation may be more stringent than what you see in the u.s. the important part for us as a company is going back to what i called our global standards, how we do things everywhere that often exceed the regulations in any country. >> mr. mckay? >> yes, i would agree with that, are slag -- similar but the u.s. has a strong set of standards. i would add a comment i think

probably the worst disaster in history was in the north sea. we have these things happening across the world and we have to improve from each one of them. >> does this show that oil drilling is inherently risky and there can always be a disaster? >> the track record is overall, very strong. but we have this tragic accident that we have to learn from. >> nobody is saying "drill baby drill" anymore. it is ridiculous that this could happen. and there is no response. >> the gentleman's time has expired. we now recognize a member of the full committee, the gentleman from new york. >> thank you. i am wondering if we're all not saying the same thing. and that is that bp should not be in charge of anything in this operation anymore. they have said, in different ways, that there is very little credibility that you have in telling us what is going on. these numbers have been wildly underestimated. it is very clear that you are conflicted when it comes to settling claims with people victimized by the negligence. you want to pay less and they want to get m

that we have made huge progress in the north sea. there is a major problem in the attitude toward public relations. until that issue is sorted out in the north sea, will continue to have problems. p> thank you. i would certainly be happy to look at the issues he raises. i personally believe that it is important to have trade union oversight in these matters, in cases where the companies are unionized. and a guarantee to otherpective employees that safety will be given the attention it deserves. >> [unintelligible] companies to outsource environmental and safety critical processes failed to take their responsibility seriously when it really counts, before disaster strikes. they lost their very license to cooperate. what this session will his department have with businesses in the energy sector to get a grip on their direct environmental responsibility instead of simply balancing the rhetoric of corporate responsibility? >> i think my friend for that question which is very cute and well directed. i think there is an issue of but come o

that is why these are brought from the north sea. that is not the usual form of transfer. >> i'm sorry, one more. clear leader is a drillship, correct? >> yes, it's very similar to discover enterprise. >> will the clear leader stay on site? last thing i'm confused about is we have this [inaudible] it will no longer be used at that point? it will either of the drillships be used? >> at some point we will make a transition. it will be pretty crowded of there. we will move from they two production vessels, and the tanker yet to be named will replace that with two production platforms. that is the capacity we require to the pricing system. >> that's wonddrful. so the actual burning of of oil is not going to last very long? >> that is a strategy to increaae capacity and create redundancy. that's correct. >> thank you so much. >> will there be a briefing this weekend? >> to be determined. >> a look at the deep water horizon explosion site. you can see the flotilla of ships at the site, including this is burning of natural gas from the leak

it shuttles oil from the north sea oil rigs to scotland.e will basically have a pumping capability at the surface connected by a flexible hose down to the riser that continually off lows tankers. the bottom will go back to the wellhead. we might be able to move from a containment cap to a hard cap which is a way to produce everything coming out which means we could take leakage down to almost zero. >> do you have an estimated capacity for that system? >> i do not have it with me but we can make that available. >> thank you. >> next question comes from npr. >> good morning. the ap is reporting that they are moving ships into place to flame of the oil and gas as opposed to recover it. is that part of a plan? >> that is the q 4000 that i mentioned before. it can fire off natural gas and the oil, as well. we are concerned that oil to not hit the water. it will be a combination of transferred to oil ashore and firing off oil and natural gas. >> that explains why bp talks about a 5,000 barrel per day capacity. they keep talking about a different

the industry's record in the north sea is a strong. but with the beginning of exploration in deeper waters, we must be vigilant. initial steps are already on the way, includiig doubling annual inspections from? two drilling rigs. -- from decks to drilling rigs. we're building on the ork already begun by the newly formed oil spillage and response advisory group. i will also ensure that lessons and practices are shared with3 operating companies. mr. speaker, i now turn to the position of vp.%+ it is usually egrettable that the company's tactical efforts to stop the spill have, to date, been only partially successful. but acknowledged the company for its strong public commitment to stand by its obligation, to hold this bill, and to provide a remedy and payment of all legitimate claims. as a bp's chairman has ssid, these are critical tasks for bp and bp must complete them in order to rebuild truut in the company as a member of the business community in the united states, in the united kingdom, and around the world. bp remaiis a strong comp

he can keep that american crew on board and he can go off the coast of africa or north sea and have americans explore or have americans benefit from our natural resources. why should we export the value of what is in our sea bode? host: try to get one more phone call. dave democratic line. caller: sure. i've just been watching with interest what's going on in the united states. nothing to do with the jones act. it's really a general comment. when mr. obama came in and was president, we were all delighted of a new, somebody new coming in. but unfortunately, the way that bp, which is not a british compaay any more. it's shared, owned by parts afamerica, major shareholding's in america, here if britain. a lot of people are going to lose their 3e7kses if bpgose down. i love america, but by the same token, that this dike my where you have the incident in india where 25,000 people died. and yet mr. yearnedson who was the c.e.o. of union car bide refused to go to india. you know, at the present time the americans, they release more greenhouse gas than any other nation in the earth yet refuses so sig

that we have made huge progress in the north sea. there is a major problem in the attitude toward public relations. unl that issue is sorted out in the north sea, will continue to have problems. p> thank you. i would certainly be happy to look at the issues he raises. i personally believe that it is important to havtrade union oversight in these matters, in cases where the companies are unionized. and a guarantee totherrspective employees that safety wille given e attention it deserves. >> [unintelligible] coanies to outsource environmental and safety critical processes failed to take their responsibility seriously when it really counts, fore disaster strikes. they lost their very license to coopere. what this session will his department have with businesses in the energy sector to get a grip on their direct environmental responsibility instead of simply balancing the rhetoric of corporate responsibility? >> i think my friend for that question which is very cute and well directed. i think there isn issue of but come out of the inquir

norway has done lots of rilling in the north sea, a deepwater drilling. this administration has reached out to everyone to say that if you have ideas, expertise, bring them. so, i don't think we can be critical of their inability to reach out. they have been very aggressive. host: good morning. caller: my name is john white and teach marine engineering and worked on a marine simmering for 14 years. i believe the senate bill was correct. this is not time to argue about legal things or money. it is a time to look for the solution to stop the leak, first. otherwise, the catastrophe, its effect will be damaging the environment much greater than now. i have a design that i sent to mr. tunney he word sometimes -- to mr. tony hayward several times, and to the white house, but i have had no rrsponse. i have a way to seal the pipe and recapped the oil, and use it to pay for the damages. this design is a very unique design and uses a submarine system to seal the pipes. if you are interested i will send you the design ensure you have to do it. host: thanks, john. gu

in the north sea, and they use for concrete casings that i believe our 200 feet in diameter, 600 feet high. you could not do that in every place, but you could definitely put them on the sea floor to do some thinning out. that would give you much less of a chance of a blowout. but if we can just put in that separation unit, some electrical controls, pumps, we can do this. send that oil and gas to shore. that would help to pay for this and stop all of the pollution going into the gulf right now. guest: you need to be telling this to bp, not me. what i can tell you is we are recovering 13,000 barrels a day of recoverable oil. that is being collected and taken to the refineries. i know they are going to go to the blowout preventer and use those two tubes that were to be used for the top kill to suck oil until the two relief wells are drilled. because this is 5,000 feet under the sea, we could probably get you ready to fly on the space shuttle. we do not have the kind of technology to go to the bottom of the sea, and that is the reality. host: next phone call. caller: good morning. it is

and north sea. >> you would focus on those areas if this moratorium continues? >> we -- we are focused today on the relief wells. >> i understand that. >> and youeo you should be. you better be. >> i haven't -- i haven't thought frank my beyond dealing with the relief wells in terms of their activity in the gulf of mexico. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. >> mr. hayward, line of questioning throughout the day, you referred to the blowout preventer. mr. gonzalez, when he asked questions and mr. barton asked questions on there. back on june 4th, you wrote an editorial to the wall street journal. you stated, we in the industry have long had great confidence in the blowout preventer as the ultimate fail safe piece of safety equipment yet on this occasion it failed with disastrous consequences. do you believe the the blowout preventer should be considered the ultimate fail safe? >> i believe so. either that or some similar mechanism. >> i'm surprised by your comments because the committee received a document and you have the document binder there, you play w

we are bringing in shuttle tankers from the north sea and brazil and other places. they are capable of dynamic positioning where they can provide the stability they need to transfer that oil. if we can get that in place, we can have multiple things in place to have better ability as we move into hurricane season. it is not going to protect us from a hurricane. we can stay out there longer, and it will give us redundancy so if one side goes to maintenance, we can keep producing with the other. this is important because the revised flow rates were able to set rates with a high of 60, but we think it is around mid 30's. we will not know that until we are able to actually assess the flow rate, but in the long run, the final solution is the relief wells. the first relief well as between 8000 and 9,000 feet. it will pass within 10 feet of the well board and then turn and go about 1,000 feet down. that allows them to do the exact measurements to know where to come in. the last 1,000 feet will take a significant amount of time. the original time frame was for the second wee

it is being done right now but it is a very large ship and some are coming from as far as the north sea, to bring in the production platforms that are floating back and do this at a much larger rate and that was already in progress. >> consistently underestimated the amount of the low rate. the u.s. government does not seem to know. why is it so difficult? , frankly, bp is not doing estimates on flow rate. those estimates i gave you our estimates we are doing. they can do it if they want, but i think we need to have the american people understand that any flow rates of being developed are governmental, third parties involved, not bp. i think there is a lot of talk about transparency. you need to be assured that we are doing this. >> we talked about here, the amount of oil that leaks will help determine the find at bp incurs. while our interests are on capping as well, we would never ask bp to tell us how much oil they think has leaked in order for us to determine the compensation and penalties that is to be derived from it. understanding that, buffalo late technical group was stood up a

some of these are coming as far away as the north sea. that had already been in progress. >> why have they consistently underestimated the flow? why is this so difficult? >> frankly, bp is not doing estimates on flow rate. we established our own group and we are doing that now. those are the estimates we are doing. they can do what they want, but the american people understand that these are not being developed under an team -- any model. these are third parties. you want to talk about transparency. you need to be assured we are doing this. >> the amount of oil that leaks will help determine and find -- find that bp will incur. our interest align on capping the well. we would never asked bp to tell us how much they think is leaking in order for us to determine the compensation and penalties to be derived from that. understanding that, the flow of great technical group and has -- as adm. allen has said, our response was not dictated on a flow rate mechanism. hold on. we had a better idea and could use better equipment from all over the gov

not an expert -- that would have preeented this pradge dion the well head, that he required in the north sea. it is $500,000 per rig, but we don't require them. when they leave, it will be far-reaching throughout our hard-hit. as we ask the president to look qqickly at the other solutions to make it saver. >> if the chairman will allow me one more question, i've got to ask the mayor. you have been in the forefront in the fight for revenue sharing since we started it 20 yearr ago. it has been going on for a long time. you know the history. president truman when the offshore industry started afttr louisiana 37%. we wented 100% and we lost in court. we have been trying to tell people with the $5 million produced by this industry off shore that the federal government gets, we get nothing. this deep horizon well 50 miles basically off of your shore, louisiana would have gotten not onn penny of the hundreds of thousands or billions of dollarr of taxes that would be generated by it. could you give a comment about would it be helpful for you to have some of that funding, and what would you be doing

they are moving large vessels from the north sea and they will set up a more permanent way to transferthe product to the surface. they will create an underwater morring. oring. they are looking at that in the next several weeks. that is a more permanent solution in heavier weather than what we have right now. next question. >> given the concentration of oil you have recorded, about how much oil do you think is represented in the water column at this point to? >> as we construct more and more of these mri slices, we can put together a more comprehensive understanding of the entirety of the gulf and where the oil is and in what concentrations. at present, we only have the water samples returned from some initial research missions and they provide us with just a couple of slices. what that information tells us is that there is definite oil there in low concentration. that does not mean it does matter have significant impact. the impact it has remains to be understood and we are working aggressively to do just that. a more complete picture will require additional information and we are in

north sea methodology and then in developing another case guideline. but subsequently applied what we learned to our operations around the world. even where no formal safety case was required. we also implemented an major accident hazard risk assessment across all transocean operations. our full commitment to environmental and social stewardship is demonstrated by our active participation in a range of scientific, social, and conservation research programs around the world, including the gulf of mexico. we've invested millions of dollars over the past two years in projects aimed at better understanding the environment in which we work and the communities that support our operations. one such example is our support of a global program addressing scientific and environmental issues associated with remote operated vehicles. for over seven years we have been using our rigs as places of research to allow scientists to explore the deep water environment with cutting edge technology, to better understand the largely unexplored deepwater area of the ocean. ano

it is a large ship and some of these are coming away from the north sea to do this and that has been in progress. >> bp has underestimated the amount of the flow. the u.s. government does not seem to know it. why is this so difficult? >> bp is not doing under -- any estimates. we have established our group and is independent. those estimates i gave you our estimates we are doing. any flow rates that are being developed, those are government with third parties involved. that is what is happening. there's a lot of talk about transparency. you need to be assured we're doing this. >> the amount of oil that leaks will help determine the find the bp incurs. while our interest a line on capping this well, we would never ask bp to tell us how much oil they think has leaked in order for us to determine the compensation and penalty that is to be derived from it. the flow rate technical group was stood up and callous -- our response was not dictated upon a full mechanism. the flow rate technical group was set up, and because we had a better idea and could use better equipment, nasa equipment, e

north sea's safety based methodology, and then in developing another safety guideline. but subsequently we applied that around the world, even where it was not required. we've also implemented on major accident-hazard risk assessment against -- across all transocean equipment. our commitment to stewardship is demonstrated by our active participation in a number of scientific, social, and conversation research programs around the world, including the gulf of mexico. we have invested millions of dollars of the past few years and it better understanding of the environment in which we work and the communities that support our operations. one such example is our support of a global program addressing scientific and environmental issues associated with remote operated vehicles. for over seven years we have been using our rigs as placings as of research to allows scientists to explore the deep water environment with cutting edge technology to better render stand the largely unexplored deepwater area of the ocean. another example is our membership in the global technical founda

one is from the north sea. they are going to create an underwater mooring, so the lines coming of the wellhead can go to that mooring, then through a flexible hose, then to production of vessels. that is a follow-on, a more permanent solution, a more durable solution for heavier whether then we have right now. -- a van we have right now. -- than we have right now. >> given the concentration in the areas that you reported, about how much oil do you think is represented in the water at this point? >> as we construct more and more of these mri it slices, we will be able to put together a more comprehensive understanding of the entirety of the gulf, where the oil is and in what concentrations. at the present, all we have are the water samples returned from some initial research missions, and they provide us with just a couple of slices. so, what that information tells us is that there is definitely oil there. it is in a low concentrations, but that does not mean that it does not have significant impact. the impact

this is what we do in the north sea. then we do -- then [inaudible] these pipelines [inaudible] that oil. we're bringing shuttle tankers. once we get to that point, we'll have redundancy and we'll have 80,000 barrels a day. being put in place. is that responsive? >> you're looking at a place that could have an unrestricted flow. what other factors would you consider? >> if we get near 53,000 barrels per day and we consider those bends --vents, and there is almost no oil leaking, we will decide if we think that is good enough in terms of containment until the relief well is drilled. there is another issue that has to be considered about a floating riser pipes -- the floating riser pipes which can be decoupled. hurricane season is upon us. we may have to shut operations down, evacuate, and redeploy. the floating riser system will give us better capability with the production vessels to disconnect and reconnect. the risk associated with removing the pipe and installing a new cap, we get better flexibility in the new product

now it can be done, and i think it took 500 barrels of oil out to the north sea 500 feet below the surface it to see what would happen. you do not want to release it, but they did it to see what would happen. that was not done in the waldrop deep -- in deep water. when these actions are not acted upon, that is frustrating. host: and that is when republicans were in control. guest: this is a bipartisan issue. this particular well was permitted in february, 2009. if you will, this is an obama administration well. from initial permitting and all the way through all its adjustments, it has been on this administration. i'm willing to say that there is bipartisan way in. -- a bipartisan blame. host: there is a report in the "wall street journal" that bp ways dividend cut. -- bp weighs dividend cut. you think they should delay that a dividend cut? guest: what they do with their dividend does not matter to me as long as they take care of everyone else. host: but if they're unable to take care of that commitment? guest: then pay the dividend. what they do it after making everyone whole, that is the

we do not use the same type of tanker that they use in the north sea. i say "we," collectively is the industry. is everybody. >> what criteria and requirements are you using to track these essels? >> some of the skimmers are self-contained. other systems are systems that you towed behind a vessel and step away to evacuate it. we are trying to put the skimming equipment into the hands of the vessels of opportunity out there. they will back him ii the oil out and continue working. -- vacuum the oil out and continue working. there is some safety training involved, and that is what we are about. do you trust tony hayward? >> the fact of the matter is, we have to have a productive, cooperative relationship for this thing to move forward. this has to be a unifiid effort or we are not going to get this thing solved. if you call that trust, yes. >> local louisiana officials told a senate subcommittee about frustrations with the government's response. he said he still does not know who is in charge, bp or the coast guard. he says he spends more time fighting bp

it is a large ship and some are coming as far as the north sea to bring in the mat forms that are floating that could do this at a much larger rate. >> and they consistently underestimated the amount of the flow, the know rate. the government doesn't seem to know it. why is this so difficult? >> frankly, b.p. is not doing estimates on flow rate. we established our own group and it is independent. those estimates i gave you are estimates that we're doing. they could do it good they want. we want the american people to understand that flow rates are developed under models. that's governmental with third parties. i think there's a lot of talk about transparency. you need to be assured we're doing this and we're -- >> we talked about here, chip, the amount of oil that heaks will help determine the -- the fine that b.p. incurs. while our interest relies on capping the well, we would never ask b.p. to tell us how much oil they think has leaked in order for us to determine the compensation and penalty that is to be derived from it. understanding that again the flow-rate technical group was stood

is that the rules and regulation as i understand it in the gulf of mexico are higher than in the north sea and in the u.k. sector in terms of requirements. so, we will continue to learn from this incident and make changes to ensure it cannot happen again. it will be global. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> you you back? our next, mr. barton, ranking member, for questions. >> thank you, i appreciate the opportunity to ask some questions. mr. tony hayward, yesterday when we had a hearing in a different subcommittee of this full committee we had four ceos of other oil companies. to a person, and i could be indicated they either would not have drilled this well, or least would not have dreaded the way repeated. your response? >> i wanted to understand exactly what happened through our investigation, compared with other practices to determine the truth. i cannot comment today on the. >> all right. i have had off camera discussions with a number of experts in the drilling processes for the deep gulf of mexico. they all say that bp has a different culture, that for example, in most of the other com

this is what we do in the north sea. then we do -- then [inaudible] these pipelines [inaudible] that oil. we're bringing shuttle tankers. once we get to that point, we'll have redundancy and we'll have 80,000 barrels a day. being put in place. is that responsive? >> this'll be the last question. >> [inaudible]. >> exactly. that's the reason. >> [inaudible]. >> well, if we get to near 53,000 barrels a day and we're able to secure the vents and there's no oil leaking or there's a very small amount of oil leaking [inaudible] decision point and we think that is good enough. [inaudible] we got in terms of containment until the relief well is drilled. there's another issue that has to be considered and that's the fact that these floating riser pipes allow you to either decouple and hook back up very quickly or quicker than we have right now with the vessel being connected to the fixed riserwe have hurricane season upon us. we may have to shut operations down, evacuate and redeploy. what the floating risers would also give us i

sea or oil drilling. mr. burr has done their bidding and accepted contributions from them. he is the senator from big oil. i would like to be the senator from north carolina. >> cal cunningham, your take on the opposition you have expressed to offshore drilling. >> offshore drilling and raises a question of what our energy future will look like. how do we balance our priorities? how we make sure we protect north carolina's unique nature? and we have a wonderful travel and tourism. our beaches are a splendid destination. that is important to the economy. as we think about protecting our environment, there is not enough oil or natural gas off the coast to be a meaningful part of an energy solution for america. it is why in this campaign i have talked about ending tax credits and tax favored status for big oil companies. it is why in this campaign we talked about over $400,000 senator burr has taken from big oil companies. even today, he is defending what has happened with bp. i want to use the power of the government to create incentives for alternative forms of energy, wind, solar, biodiesel. that is the future. >> any rebuttal on that issue? we w

north cape skandia oil spill off the coast of capetown. we know how important penalties and fines are to keeping sea farers safe and marine ecosystems healthy. like my fellow rhode islanders, i insist that in the future oil companies do everything they can to prevent needless deaths whether in the gulf, of the coast of nonge or anywhere in our great country. today's hearing is an important step toward that goal and i applaud you for holding it, mr. chairman, thank you very much. >> thank you very much. our first witness is christopher jones. mr. jones is currently a partner at the law firm in baton rouge, louisiana. more important than his professional background, he's -- he's the brother of gordon jones who is one of the 11 rig workers who lost their lives the day of the explosion. gordon jones is survived by his wife michelle, two young sons, stafford maxwell -- stafford and maxwell, one of the sons irk understand, was born shortly after the accident. is that correct? mr. jones, please go ahead, the floor is yours. >> chairman leahy, ranking member sessions and other members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before

north cape scanned yeah oil spill off south kings town. rhode islanders know what an oil spill can do to an ecosystem. we know how important penalties and fines are keeping seasafe and marine ecosystems healthy. i insist in the future oil companies do everything they can do prevent needless deaths and catastrophic harm whether in the gulf, off the coast of new england or anywhere in our great country. today's hearing is an important step toward that goal and i applaud you for holding it, mr. chairman. thank you very up. >> thank you very much, senator whitehouse. our first witness is christopher jones, currently the partner at keough, cox and wilson in baton rouge, louisiana. more important than his professional background, he's the brother of gordon jones, one of the 11 rig workers who lost their lives the day of the explosion. gordon jones is survived by his wife michelle, young sons stafford maxwell. one of the sons i understand was born very shortly after the accident. is that correct? >> yes. >> mr. jones, please go aled. the floor is yours. >> chairman leahy, ranking member sessions and other members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to a

sea or oil drilling. mr. burr has done their bidding and accepted contributions from them. he is the senator from big oil. i would like to be the senator from north carolina. >> cal cunningham, your take on the opposition you have expressed to offshore drilling. >> offshore drilling and raises a question of what our energy future will look like. how do we balance our priorities? how we make sure we protect north carolina's unique nature? and we have a wonderful travel and tourism. our beaches are a splendid destination. that is important to the economy. as we think about protecting our environment, there is not enough oil or natural gas off the coast to be a meaningful part of an energy solution for america. it is why in this campaign i have talked about ending tax credits and tax favored status for big oil companies. it is why in this campaign we talked about over $400,000 senator burr has taken from big oil companies. even today, he is defending what has happened with bp. i want to use the power of the government to create incentives for alternative forms of energy, wind, solar, biodiesel. that is the future. >> any rebuttal on that issue? we w