BP EXECUTIVES PARTIED ON RIG AS IT EXPLODED

There are multiple versions of this AP story on the web. Read this version, which details the number of BP executives and also describes the scene at the moment of explosion, for some reason later stories alter or omit these sections. Halliburton engineers removed a safety fluid too early, according to this Times-Picayune story, causing the explosion. The revelation of a completion, production, or “safety” party by BP executives on board the rig for the first time provides a possible explanation for the otherwise baffling question of, why where the Halliburton engineers rushing the final completion of the well? Ask the executives who had their hands on the champagne corks.