Summary

House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee holdsa a hearing with Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil; John Watson, Chairman and CEO of Chevron; James Mulva, Chairman and CEO of ConocoPhillips; Marvin Odum, President of Shell; and Lamar McKay of BP 09:33:02 MARKEY: 57 DAYS AGO IN THE DEAD OF 09:35:30 NIGHT, THE WORST ENVIRONMENTAL NIGHTMARE IN U.S. HISTORY BEGAN. 09:35:35 ON A SCREEN HERE, AND IN HOMES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, WE NOW SEE 09:35:42 THE LIVE VIDEO OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF BARRELS OF OIL 09:35:48 BILLOWING INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO EVERY DAY. 09:35:52 FOR YEARS THE OIL INDUSTRY SWORE THIS COULD NEVER HAPPEN. 09:35:56 WE WERE TOLD THE TECHNOLOGY HAD ADVANCED, THAT OFFSHORE DRILLING 09:36:01 WAS SAFE. BP SAID THEY DIDN'T THINK THE 09:36:05 RIG WOULD SINK. IT DID. 09:36:07 THEY SAID THEY COULD HANDLE AN EXXON VALDEZ SPILL EVERY DAY. 09:36:14 THEY COULDN'T. BP SAID THE SPILL WAS 1,000 09:36:18 BARRELS PER DAY. IT WASN'T. 09:36:20 AND THEY KNEW IT. NOW THE OTHER COMPANIES HERE 09:36:24 TODAY WILL CONTINUE THE END THAT THIS WAS AN ISOLATED INCIDENT. 09:36:28 THEY WILL SAY A SIMILAR DISASTER COULD NEVER HAPPEN TO THEM. 09:36:34 AND, YET, IT IS THIS KIND OF BLIND FAITH, WHICH IS IRONICALLY 09:36:40 THE NAME OF AN ACTUAL RIG IN THE GULF THAT HAS LED TO THIS KIND 09:36:45 OF DISASTER. IN PREPARATION FOR THIS HEARING, 09:36:48 THE COMMITTEE REVIEWED THE OIL SPILL SAFETY RESPONSE PLANS FOR 09:36:53 ALL OF THE COMPANIES HERE TODAY. WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT THESE 09:36:59 FIVE COMPANIES HAVE RESPONSE PLANS THAT ARE VIRTUALLY 09:37:04 IDENTICAL. THE PLANS CITE IDENTICAL 09:37:06 RESPONSE CAPABILITIES AND TOUT INEFFECTIVE EQUIPMENT. 09:37:14 IN SOME CASES THEY USE THE EXACT SAME WORD. 09:37:17 WE FOUND ALL OF THESE COMPANIES NOT JUST BP MADE THE EXACT SAME 09:37:24 ASSURANCES. THE COVERS OF THE FIVE RESPONSE 09:37:27 PLANS ARE DIFFERENT COLORS, BUT THE CONTENT IS 90% IDENTICAL. 09:37:34 LIKE BP, THREE OTHER COMPANIES INCLUDE REFERENCES TO PROTECTING 09:37:46 WALRUSSE WHICH HAVE NOT CALLED THE GULF OF MEXICO FOR 3 MILLION 09:37:50 YEARS. TWO OTHERS ARE SUCH DEAD RINGERS 09:37:54 FOR BP THAT THEY LIST THE SAME PHONE NUMBER FOR A LONG DEAD 09:37:58 EXPERT. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DESERVE OIL 09:38:01 SAFETY PLANS THAT ARE IRON CLAD AND NOT BOILERPLATE. 09:38:05 WE NOW KNOW THE OIL INDUSTRY AND THE GOVERNMENT AGENCY TASKED 09:38:09 REGULATING WITH THEM DETERMINE THAT THERE WAS A ZERO CHANCE 09:38:13 THAT THIS KIND OF UNDER SEA DISASTER COULD EVER HAPPEN. 09:38:17 WHEN YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE IS ZERO CHANCE OF A DISASTER 09:38:22 HAPPENING, YOU DO ZERO DISASTER PLANNING. 09:38:26 AND THE OIL INDUSTRY HAS INVESTED NEARLY ZERO TIME AND 09:38:30 MONEY INTO DEVELOPING SAFETY AND RESPONSE EFFORTS. 09:38:35 THE OIL COMPANIES BEFORE US TODAY AMASSED NEARLY $289 09:38:42 BILLION IN PROFITS OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS. 09:38:48 THEY SPENT $39 BILLION TO EXPLORE FOR NEW OIL AND GAS. 09:38:53 YET, THE AVERAGE INVESTMENT IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOR 09:38:58 SAFETY ACCIDENT PREVENTION AND SPILL RESPONSE WAS A PALTRY $20 09:39:05 MILLION PER YEAR, LESS THAN ONE TENTH OF 1% OF THEIR PROFITS. 09:39:10 THE OIL COMPANIES MAY THINK IT'S FINE TO PRODUCE CARBON COPIES OF 09:39:14 THEIR SAFETY PLANS, BUT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE EXPECT AND 09:39:18 DESERVE MORE. IT IS TIME TO EXPECT MORE FROM 09:39:22 THE OIL INDUSTRY AND THAT NEEDS TO START TODAY. 09:39:28 FIRST, CONGRESS MUST ENSURE THAT THERE IS UNLIMITED LIABILITY FOR 09:39:32 OIL SPILLS BY OIL COMPANIES. WHILE WE TRY TO CAP THIS WELL, 09:39:37 WE MUST LIFT THE CAP ON OIL INDUSTRY LIABILITY. 09:39:43 SECOND, CONGRESS MUST ALSO ENACT WIDE RANGING OF SAFETY REFORMS 09:39:47 FOR OFFSHORE DRILLING. IF OIL COMPANIES ARE GOING TO 09:39:51 PURSUE ULTRADEEP DRILLING, WE MUST ENSURE THAT IT IS 09:39:57 ULTRASAFE, AND THAT COMPANIES CAN RESPOND ULTRAFAST. 09:40:02 THIRD, THE FREE RIDE IS OVER. OIL COMPANIES NEED TO PAY THEIR 09:40:08 FAIR SHARE TO DRILL ON PUBLIC LAND. 09:40:10 RIGHT NOW EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE COMPANIES HERE TODAY AND 09:40:14 DOZENS OF OTHERS ARE DRILLING FOR FREE IN THE GULF OF MEXICO 09:40:18 ON LEASES THAT WILL COST AMERICAN TAXPAYERS MORE THAN $50 09:40:25 BILLION IN LOST ROYALTIES. AND FOURTH, WE MUST ENSURE THAT 09:40:29 NEW TECHNOLOGIES ARE DEVELOPED FOR CAPPING WELLS, BOOSTING 09:40:34 SAFETY AND CLEANING UP SPILLS. I WILL SOON INTRODUCE THE OIL 09:40:39 SOS ACT TO ASSURE WE HAVE 21st CENTURY TECHNOLOGIES IN PLACE 09:40:44 FOR 21st CENTURY DRILLING RISKS. AND FINALLY, AMERICA MUST MOVE 09:40:48 TO A SAFER, CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO RELY AS 09:40:54 MUCH ON OIL TO POWER OUR CARS AND OUR ECONOMY. 09:40:59 THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DESERVE ANSWERS FROM THE OIL INDUSTRY 09:41:02 AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE TESTIMONY OF OUR WITNESSES. 09:41:06 ILL LIKE NOW TO RECOGNIZE MY DISTINGUISHED COLLEAGUE FROM 09:41:10 MICHIGAN, THE RANKING MEMBER OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE, THE GENTLEMAN, 09:41:15 AGAIN FROM MICHIGAN. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 09:41:18 I THANK YOU FOR CALLING THIS VERY IMPORTANT HEARING. 09:41:22 WHAT HAPPENED ON THE DEEP WATER HORIZON RIG WAS TRULY A NATIONAL 09:41:28 TRAGEDY. THE LOSS OF LIFE WAS 09:41:30 HEARTBREAKING, THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC DAMAGE THAT WORSENS 09:41:33 BY THE DAY IS GUT WRENCHING. AS I'VE SAID MANY TIMES BEFORE 09:41:38 IT NEED BE MADE CRYSTAL CLEAR TO ALL INVOLVED THAT THE POLLUTER 09:41:43 WILL PAY. THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER SHOULD NOT 09:41:45 AND WILL NOT BE ON THE HOOK FOR THE COST OF THIS ACCIDENT. 09:41:50 BOTH ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL. NOR SHOULD CONSUMERS BE PUNISHED 09:41:54 WITH TAX INCREASES PASSED IN THE NAME OF THE BP SPILL. 09:42:02 IT WILL ONLY FURTHER WEAKEN OUR ECONOMY. 09:42:05 WE NOW HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK BP AMERICA IN THE EYE AND 09:42:10 DEMAND THEY FULFILL THEIR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DISASTER 09:42:12 IN THE GULF AND AN IMPORTANT STEP IS THE CREATION OF AN 09:42:16 ESCROW ACCOUNT THAT WILL ENSURE AMERICAN TAXPAYERS ARE NOT LEFT 09:42:20 HOLDING THE TAB. IN THE WAKE OF THIS TRAGEDY, WE 09:42:23 MUST WORK TOGETHER TO FIND SOLUTIONS THAT WILL PROTECT 09:42:28 CONSUMERS, TAXPAYERS AND OUR NATIONAL SECURITY. 09:42:31 THE CLEAN UP HAS BEEN TOO SLOW, WAY TOO SLOW AND TOO INDECISIVE. 09:42:37 WE WANT ANSWERS AND WE WANT THEM ALL. 09:42:39 WE HAVE TO WORK TO ASSURE A DISASTER LIKE THIS NEVER HAPPENS 09:42:44 AGAIN. WHEN THAT RIG EXPLODED AND AS 09:42:50 MILLIONS OF GALLON OF OIL LEAKED INTO THE GULF OUR SECURITY 09:42:54 POSTURE HAS WEAKENED. I'M AWARE EACH WITNESS TODAY WAS 09:43:00 GIVEN A LENGTHY LIST OF QUESTIONS TO ANSWER IN ADVANCE. 09:43:03 THEY RELATE TO FRONTAL BOUNDARY AT HAND. 09:43:05 QUESTIONS ABOUT RIG SAFETY, ABOUT WORSE CASE SCENARIOS IF 09:43:09 THERE'S ANOTHER RIG EXPLOSION AND QUESTIONS ABOUT CHEMICAL 09:43:14 DISPERSANTS. LEGITIMATE AND CONSTRUCTIVE 09:43:16 QUESTIONS THAT WILL HELP US FORGE A SOLUTION ORIENTED 09:43:19 POLICY. I AM, HOWEVER, DISHEARTENED TO 09:43:22 LEARN A FEW OF THE QUESTIONS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE 09:43:27 DISASTER THAT WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE AND SERVE THE POLITICAL 09:43:32 POINTS THAT WILL RAISE TAXES, ELIMINATE AMERICAN JOBS AND 09:43:35 LEAVE CONSUMERS ALREADY STRUGGLING IN THIS DOWN ECONOMY 09:43:39 WITH HIGH ENERGY COSTS. SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS ARE HOW 09:43:43 MUCH IS YOUR COMPANY INVESTED IN THE DEPLOYMENT OF RENEWABLE 09:43:49 ALTERNATIVE ENERGY? WHAT STEPS DO YOU BELIEVE THAT 09:43:50 THE U.S. GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE INDUSTRY SHOULD TAKE TO REDUCE 09:43:55 THE THREAT BY CLIMATE CHANGE. DOES YOUR COMPANY SUPPORT A CAP 09:44:00 ON GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS THAT INCLUDE TRANSPORTATION FUELS. 09:44:03 WOULD YOUR COMPANY BE ABLE TO PASS ANY OF THE COSTS OF 09:44:08 PURCHASING EMISSION ALLOWANCES THROUGH ITS CUSTOMERS. 09:44:11 FRANKLY, I WOULD PREFER TO BRING UP THE CAP AND TRADE BILL ON THE 09:44:15 HOUSE FLOOR BECAUSE I'M CONVINCED THIS YEAR IT WOULD 09:44:18 FAIL RATHER THAN PASS BY THE SEVEN VOTE MARGIN THAT IT DID 09:44:22 LAST SUMMER. BUT THAT'S NOT THE ISSUE AT 09:44:24 HAND. INSTEAD OF TAKING TIME TO TALK 09:44:26 ABOUT CAP AND TAX OR CAP AND TRADE, LET'S FIGURE OUT HOW TO 09:44:31 CAP THE WELL. WE'RE NOT HERE TO DISCUSS 09:44:35 CLIMATE CHANGE BUT RATHER WHAT EACH OF OUR WITNESSES THINK WENT 09:44:39 WRONG ON THE HORIZON RIG AND WHAT POLICY CHANGE COULD BE MADE 09:44:43 TO ENSURE IT NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. 09:44:46 LEAPT US NOT FORGET WHAT'S ON THE LINE HERE. 09:44:48 JOBS, THE ENVIRONMENT, OUR ECONOMY AND NATIONAL SECURITY. 09:44:53 THREE YEARS AGO WHEN BP WAS CAUGHT INCREASING THE DISCHARGE 09:44:57 INTO LAKE MICHIGAN, I JOINED WITH THE GREAT LAKES CAUCUS AND 09:45:01 OTHER COLLEAGUES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE, ACROSS THE GREAT 09:45:04 LAKES TO BEAT BACK THE ATTEMPT TO INCREASE POLLUTION IN OUR 09:45:09 LAKE. WE DIDN'T TAKE A PARTISAN 09:45:12 POSTURE, WE WORKED TOGETHER TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. 09:45:15 WE NEED SIMILAR BIPARTISANSHIP HERE TODAY. 09:45:17 THE GULF OF MEXICO ACCOUNTS FOR ALMOST A THIRD OF U.S. OIL 09:45:21 PRODUCTION. IF WE ELIMINATE THAT SUPPLY AND 09:45:24 OUR DEPENDENCY -- IF WE ELIMINATE THAT SUPPLY, 09:45:28 DEPENDENCY IN FOREIGN OIL WILL, INDEED GO UP. 09:45:32 SAUDI ARABIA WILL BE HAPPY. HUGO CHAVEZ, MAHMOUD 09:45:36 AHMADINEJAD, THEY WILL BE POPPING CHAMPAGNE. 09:45:38 BUT THE AMERICAN CONSUMER WILL BE REMEMBERING THE GOOD OLD DAYS 09:45:41 WHEN GAS WAS ONLY $4 A GALLON. THE TEAM OF ENGINEERS TAPPED BY 09:45:47 SECRETARY SALAZAR TO FIND OUT WHAT WENT WRONG ON THE RIG 09:45:53 RECENTLY I WROTE, WE BELIEVE THE BLOW-OUT WAS BY A COMPLEX CHAIN 09:45:57 OF HUMAN ERRORS COUPLED WITH SEVERAL EQUIPMENT FAILURES AND 09:46:01 WAS PREVENTABLE. THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY WILL 09:46:04 LEARN FROM THIS. IT CAN AND WILL DO BETTER. 09:46:07 WE SHOULD NOT BE SATISFIED -- WAIT FOR A SECOND. 09:46:16 WE SHOULD NOT BE SATISFIED UNTIL THERE ARE NO DEATHS AND NO 09:46:21 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OFFSHORE EVER. 09:46:24 HOWEVER, WE MUST UNDERSTAND THAT AS WITH ANY HUMAN ENDEAVOR THERE 09:46:28 WILL ALWAYS BE RISKS, END QUOTE. LET'S LEARN FROM THIS AWFUL 09:46:33 MISTAKE. FIX THE PROBLEM. 09:46:34 CLEAN UP THE GULF. AND MOVE FORWARD TO FIXING OUR 09:46:38 AILING ECONOMY AND CREATE PRIVATE-SECTOR JOBS. 09:46:40 YIELD BACK MY TIME. THANK THE GENTLEMAN. 09:46:43 CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE CHAIRMAN OF THE FULL COMMITTEE, THE 09:46:47 GENTLEMAN FROM CALIFORNIA, MR. WAXMAN. 09:46:50 CHAIRMAN MARKEY, THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THIS HEARING AND 09:46:54 YOUR WORK ON THISH. YOU HAVE BEEN A TRUE CHAMPION 09:46:58 FOR TRANSPARENTSCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND YOUR EFFORTS 09:47:02 HAVE KEPT THE CONGRESS AND ADMINISTRATION AND AMERICAN 09:47:04 PEOPLE INFORMED ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER UNFOLDING 09:47:07 IN THE GULF. YESTERDAY, CHAIRMAN STUPAK AND I 09:47:11 RELEASED A LETTER DESCRIBING A SERIES OF QUESTIONABLE DECISIONS 09:47:15 MADE BY BP IN THE DAYS BEFORE THE BLOW-OUT. 09:47:18 TIME AFTER TIME, BP APPEARS TO HAVE TAKEN SHORT CUTS THAT 09:47:23 INCREASE THE RISKS OF CATASTROPHIC BLOW-OUT. 09:47:27 ONE OF THE ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS FOR TODAY'S HEARING IS WHETHER 09:47:31 THE OTHER OIL COMPANIES ARE ANY BETTER PREPARED THAN BP. 09:47:36 LAST WEEK AFTER RECEIVING A REQUEST FROM REPRESENTATIVE 09:47:41 WEHNER, THE COMMITTEE ASKED EACH OF THE FIVE MAJOR OIL COMPANIES 09:47:45 FOR THEIR OIL SPILL RESPONSE PLANS. 09:47:48 ON PAPER THEY ARE VERY IMPRESSIVE. 09:47:52 EACH DOCUMENT HAS MORE THAN 500 PAGES LONG AND IF I MIGHT I'LL 09:47:56 HOLD UP THE DOCUMENT THAT IS THE CONTINGENCY PLAN. 09:48:02 BUT WHAT THEY SHOW IS THAT EXXONMOBIL, CHEVRON, 09:48:07 CONOCOPHILLIPS, SHELL ARE NO BETTER PREPARED TO DEAL WITH THE 09:48:11 MAJOR OIL SPILL THAN BP. THE SAME COMPANY, THE RESPONSE 09:48:17 GROUP, WROTE THE FIVE PLANS AND DESCRIBED THEM AS COOKIE CUTTER 09:48:22 PLANS. MUCH OF THE TEXT IS IDENTICAL. 09:48:24 FOUR OF THE PLANS DISCUSS HOW TO PROTECT WALRUSES BUT THERE ARE 09:48:29 NO WALRUSES IN THE GULF OF MEXICO. 09:48:33 WE ANALYZED TWO KEY PARTS OF THE PLANS. 09:48:35 THE PROVISIONS FOR STOPPING A SUB SEA BLOW-OUT LIKE THE ONE 09:48:41 THAT IS SPEWING OIL ACROSS THE GULF AND THEIR WORST CASE 09:48:45 SCENARIOS. WE FOUND NONE OF THE FIVE OIL 09:48:48 COMPANIES HAS AN ADEQUATE RESPONSE PLAN. 09:48:51 IT'S INSTRUCTIVE TO COMPARE EXXONMOBIL'S PLAN FOR 09:48:55 CONTROLLING THE SUB SEA BLOW-OUT WITH BP'S PLAN. 09:48:59 HERE'S WHAT BP SAYS IN ITS PLAN. IN THE EVENT THE SPILL SOURCE 09:49:04 CANNOT BE CONTROLLED, BY THE FACILITY OPERATOR OR REMOTELY 09:49:09 WITH A SAFETY SYSTEM, BP WILL ACTIVATE THE OIL SPILL RESPONSE 09:49:16 PLAN AND ASSEMBLE A TEAM OF EXPERTS TO RESPOND TO THE 09:49:20 SITUATION. HERE'S WHAT EXXONMOBIL SAYS. 09:49:22 YOU CAN SEE THE TEXT ON THE SCREEN. 09:49:25 IN THE EVENT THE SPILL SOURCE CANNOT BE CONTROLLED BY THE 09:49:30 FACILITY OPERATOR OR RELOTLY WITH A SAFETY SYSTEM, EXXONMOBIL 09:49:34 WILL ACTIVATE THE OIL SPILL RESPONSE AND ASSEMBLE A TEAM OF 09:49:40 TECHNICAL EXPERTS TO RESPOND TO THE SITUATION. 09:49:43 THE PLANS ARE IDENTICAL. AND SO ARE THE PLANS FOR CHEVRON 09:49:48 AND CONOCOPHILLIPS. SHELL DID NOT GIVE US A WELL 09:49:51 CONTROLLED CONTINGENCY PLAN BUT IT SAYS SHELL WOULD USE THE SAME 09:49:56 STRATEGIES OF TOP KILLS AND JUMP SHOTS THAT HAVE ALREADY FAILED. 09:50:02 EACH OF THE FIVE OIL SPILL RESPONSE PLANS ALSO INCLUDE A T 09:50:06 CASE SCENARIO INVOLVING AN OFFSHORE EXPLORATORY WELL. 09:50:12 ON PAPER THESE PLANS LOOK REASSURING. 09:50:15 BP'S PLAN SAYS IT CAN HANDLE A SPILL OF 250,000 BARRELS PER 09:50:21 DAY. BOTH CHEVRON AND SHELL SAY THEY 09:50:23 CAN HANDLE OVER 200,000 BARRELS PER DAY AND EXXON SAYS IT CAN 09:50:28 HANDLE OVER 150,000 BARRELS PER DAY. 09:50:31 THAT IS FAR MORE OIL THAN IS CURRENTLY LEAKING INTO THE GULF 09:50:36 FROM BP'S WELL. BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE 09:50:39 DETAILS, IT BECOMES EVIDENT THESE PLANS ARE JUST PAPER 09:50:45 EXERCISES. BP FAILED MISERABLY WHEN 09:50:48 CONFRONTED WITH A REAL LEAK AND ONE CAN ONLY WONDER WHETHER 09:50:52 EXXONMOBIL AND THE OTHER COMPANIES WOULD DO ANY BETTER. 09:50:56 BP'S PLAN SAYS IT CONTRACTED WITH THE MARINE SPILL RESPONSE 09:51:01 CORPORATION TO PROVIDE EQUIPMENT FOR A SPILL RESPONSE. 09:51:04 ALL THE OTHER COMPANIES RELY ON THE SAME CONTRACTOR. 09:51:09 BP'S PLAN SAYS ANOTHER CONTRACTOR WILL OKAYIZE ITS OIL 09:51:14 SPILL REMOVAL. CHEVRON, SHELL, EXXONMOBIL USE 09:51:19 THE SAME CONTRACTOR. BP'S PLAN RELIES ON 22,000 09:51:25 GALLONS OF DISPERSANT STORED IN KILN, MISSISSIPPI, WELL, SO DO 09:51:30 EXXONMOBIL AND THE OTHER COMPANIES. 09:51:32 I COULD GO ON BUT I THINK YOU CAN GET MY POINT. 09:51:35 THESE ARE COOKIE CUTTER PLANS. EXXONMOBIL, CHEVRON, 09:51:40 CONOCOPHILLIPS AND SHELL ARE AS UNPREPARED AS BP WAS AND THAT'S 09:51:45 A SERIOUS PROBLEM. IN THEIR TESTIMONY AND RESPONSES 09:51:49 TO QUESTIONS, THE COMPANIES SAY THEY ARE DIFFERENT THAN BP. 09:51:53 BUT WHEN YOU EXAMINE THEIR ACTUAL OIL SPILL RESPONSE PLANS 09:51:57 AND COMPARE THEM TO BP, IT'S HARD TO SHARE THEIR CONFIDENCE. 09:52:02 AT THIS HEARING, CONGRESS NEEDS TO PASS -- CONGRESS NEEDS TO 09:52:08 REVIEW THE EVIDENCE AND PASS NEW LAWS THAT PUT TEETH INTO OUR 09:52:11 REGULATORY SYSTEM BUT WE CANNOT STOP THERE. 09:52:14 OUR NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY IS BROKEN. 09:52:17 WE'RE ADDICTED TO OIL, AND THIS ADDICTION IS FOULING OUR 09:52:21 BEACHES, POLLUTING OUR ATMOSPHERE AND UNDERMINING OUR 09:52:24 NATIONAL SECURITY. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 09:52:28 WE THANK THE CHAIRMAN. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE RANKING 09:52:31 MEMBER OF THE FULL COMMITTEE, THE GENTLEMAN FROM TEXAS, 09:52:33 MR. BARTON. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN MARKEY, 09:52:37 AND I APPRECIATE YOU AND CHAIRMAN WAXMAN HOLDING THIS 09:52:41 HEARING TO BRING OUR MAJOR OIL COMPANY EXECUTIVES BEFORE US AND 09:52:45 IN DOING SO, BEFORE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. 09:52:47 I HAVE A PREPARED STATEMENT I'LL GIVE TO THE RECORD. 09:52:53 I'VE LISTENED WITH INTEREST TO THE OPENING STATEMENT OF 09:52:58 CHAIRMAN MARKEY AND CHAIRMAN WAXMAN. 09:53:00 I WANT TO SAY IN TERMS OF DOING THE INVESTIGATION, I COMMEND THE 09:53:04 MAJORITY STAFF, ESPECIALLY ON THE OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATION 09:53:07 SUBCOMMITTEE THAT MR. STUPAK HOLDS. 09:53:11 WE ARE GETTING THE FACTS ASSEMBLED AND PUTTING THEM OUT 09:53:14 IN AN OPEN AND TRANSPARENT FASHION SO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 09:53:17 CAN UNDERSTAND TO THE EXTENT IT'S POSSIBLE TO UNDERSTAND 09:53:19 EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. IT'S NO QUESTION THAT THE 09:53:25 BRITISH PETROLEUM OIL COMPANY, WHO'S THE OWNER IN CHIEF 09:53:30 OPERATOR OF THE RIG THAT HAD THE ACCIDENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE 09:53:36 ACCIDENT. IT'S ALSO AS MR. WAXMAN HAS 09:53:41 POINTED OUT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF OUR MAJOR OIL COMPANIES TO 09:53:43 HAVE ADEQUATE CONTINGENCY PLANS WHEN THINGS GO WRONG. 09:53:48 SO I'M NOT TRYING TO WHITEWASH THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN TERMS OF 09:53:53 THEIR RESPONSIBILITY FOR CAUSING THIS PROBLEM, BUT I WANT TO 09:53:56 POINT OUT SOMETHING THAT HASN'T YET BEEN POINTED OUT. 09:53:59 THE FIVE PEOPLE MOST CONCERNED ABOUT SOLVING THE PROBLEM ARE 09:54:03 PROBABLY SITTING BEFORE US TODAY. 09:54:06 EXXONMOBIL, CHEVRON, CONOCOPHILLIPS, SHELL OIL AND BP 09:54:11 AMERICA HAVE HUGE INTERESTS IN GETTING IT RIGHT AND PREVENTING 09:54:15 IT FROM EVER BEING WRONG AGAIN. IF YOU ADD THE MARKET CAPS OF 09:54:21 THOSE FIVE COMPANY, THEY WOULD NOT EQUAL THE MARKET CAP OF SOME 09:54:26 OF THE OIL COMPANIES THAT ARE OWNED BY SOVEREIGN NATIONS SUCH 09:54:31 AS SAUDI ARABIA, VENEZUELA, REPUBLIC OF MEXICO, SO I WOULD 09:54:37 STIPULATE, MR. CHAIRMAN, THAT WHILE OUR MAJOR OIL COMPANIES 09:54:42 HAVE CAUSED THIS -- AT LEAST BRITISH PETROLEUM IS THE CAUSE 09:54:46 OF THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM, I WILL ALSO STIPULATE THAT THE 09:54:50 GENTLEMAN BEFORE US ARE A BIG PART OF THE SOLUTION. 09:54:53 WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES HAS GOT A BETTER IDEA OF 09:54:56 HOW TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM RIGHT NOW, HE CAN PICK UP THE PHONE 09:54:59 AND TELL BP EXACTLY WHAT TO DO. IT IS A FEDERAL ISSUE IN TERMS 09:55:05 OF THE MITIGATION PLAN, IN TERMS OF THE CLEANUP PLAN AND IF 09:55:08 THERE'S ANYBODY FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA ON DOWN WHO REALLY KNOWS 09:55:13 THE SOLUTION, IT CAN STOP THAT OIL FROM SPILLING RIGHT NOW, BY 09:55:19 GOLLY, ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS PICK UP THE PHONE AND TELL THEM 09:55:22 WHAT TO DO. THE FACT THEY'RE NOT IS SIMPLY 09:55:24 BECAUSE THE LAWS OF NATURE AND THE LAWS OF PHYSICAL SICK DON'T 09:55:27 RESPOND TO 30-SECOND SOUND BITES. 09:55:30 YOU'VE GOT TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO, AND YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE 09:55:34 THE INC. NEARING AND TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE TO DO IT. 09:55:36 AMERICA NEEDS THE ENERGY THAT'S BENEATH THE GULF OF MEXICO AND 09:55:39 IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF. 30% OF OUR OIL AND GAS IS COMING 09:55:45 FROM THE OCS RIGHT NOW AND 80% OF THAT IS COMING FROM WHAT ARE 09:55:50 CALLED DEEP RIGS. WE HAVE A DEPLETION RATE OF 09:55:53 EXISTING PRODUCTION IN THIS COUNTRY, MR. CHAIRMAN, OF 30% TO 09:55:57 40%. THAT MEANS OF THE 8 MILLION 09:56:01 BARRELS OF OIL AND GAS WE'RE PRODUCING PER DAY, NEXT YEAR 09:56:04 WE'RE ONLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE 5.5 OR 6 MANAGER. 09:56:08 YOU HAVE TO REPLACE THAT ENERGY, AND SINCE WE HAVE DRILLED 09:56:11 MILLIONS OF WELLS ON SHORE SINCE 1896 OR SINCE 1870s IN 09:56:19 PENNSYLVANIA, THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS IF YOU'RE GOING TO 09:56:21 FIND SIGNIFICANT OIL RESERVES IN THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES, 09:56:25 THEY'RE GOING TO BE IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF, SO WE NEED 09:56:29 THAT ENERGY. NOW, I AGREE WITH CHAIRMAN 09:56:31 WAXMAN THAT HAVING A 500-PAGE DOCUMENT THAT'S A COOKIE CUTTER 09:56:35 APPROACH TO WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU HAVE A PROBLEM IS NOT AN ANSWER. 09:56:40 IT'S NOT AN ANSWER. YOU CAN'T HAVE A CONTINGENCY 09:56:43 PLAN THAT SAYS CROSS YOUR FINGERS AND HOPE THE BLOW-OUT 09:56:47 PREVENTER WORK AND THAT WAS THE CONTINGENCY PLAN. 09:56:50 WE HAVEN'T HAD A MAJOR ACCIDENT IN THE OCS IN 50 YEARS. 09:56:54 EVERYBODY HAD DECIDED THAT THESE BLOW-OUT PREVENTERS WERE SO GOOD 09:57:02 ALL YOU HAD TO DO IS PUSH THE MAGIC BUTTON AND IT WOULD WORK. 09:57:07 WELL, THEY PUSHED THE MAGIC BUTTON ON THE BP RIG, AND IT 09:57:10 DIDN'T WORK SO CHAIRMAN WAXMAN IS RIGHT, WE NEED MORE THAN A 09:57:15 COOKIE CUTTER CONTINGENCY PLAN. BUT WHERE I DISAGREE OR I THINK 09:57:18 I DISAGREE WITH CHAIRMAN WAXMAN AND CHAIRMAN MARKEY IS THAT THE 09:57:23 GENTLEMEN BEFORE US HAVE THE WHEREWITHAL AND THE EXPERTISE 09:57:27 AND CERTAINLY HAVE THE INCENTIVE TO PUT THAT PLAN TOGETHER. 09:57:30 NOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ANSWERS ARE. 09:57:33 MAYBE WE NEED A FULL-TIME SAFETY INSPECTOR ON THESE RIGS. 09:57:36 MAYBE WE NEED A REALTIME DATA CENTER SOMEWHERE THAT ALL THE 09:57:42 DRILLING INFORMATION GOES TO A CENTRAL DATA POINT WHERE THERE'S 09:57:45 SOMEBODY IN CHARGE OF SAFETY THAT LOOKS AT IT. 09:57:48 IT DOES APPEAR THAT IF PEOPLE HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR THE PROBLEM 09:57:52 THAT WE NOW KNOW HAPPENED, THE DATA WAS THERE TO TELL THEM WHAT 09:57:55 TO DO. BUT THEY WEREN'T LOOKING FOR 09:57:58 THAT. THIS RIG WAS 40 DAYS BEHIND 09:58:01 SCHEDULE AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OVER SCHEDULE AND THERE WAS A 09:58:04 LOT OF PRESSURE TO FINISH THE JOB AND THERE WAS NOBODY ON THAT 09:58:09 RIG WHOSE JOB WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY MADE THE SAFE 09:58:14 DECISION, AND SO WHEN YOU START MAKING DECISION AFTER DECISION 09:58:19 AFTER DECISION THAT IS NOT IN AND OF ITSELF A BAD DECISION BUT 09:58:25 CUMULATIVELY MINIMIZE SAFETY EVENTUALLY YOU REACH A WITT CAL 09:58:30 MASS AND YOU HAVE AN ACCIDENT THAT HAPPENED. 09:58:34 SO OUR JOB, MR. CHAIRMAN, IS THE WATCHDOGS FOR THE AMERICAN 09:58:38 PEOPLE ARE, ONE, GET THE FACTS ON THE TABLE, TWO, LISTEN TO 09:58:42 PEOPLE WHO HAVE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS, THREE, IF THERE'S A 09:58:46 FEDERAL ISSUE AND A FEDERAL ROLE, LET'S DO IT. 09:58:50 BUT WHEN YOU TAKE A PATIENT TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM, THE SOLUTION 09:58:53 IS NOT NORMALLY TO KILL THE PATIENT. 09:58:57 THE SOLUTION IS TO STABILIZE THE PATIENT, DETERMINE WHAT NEEDS TO 09:59:01 BE DONE TO SAVE THE PATIENT AND THEN IMPLEMENT 10:00:00 10:00:00 BUT, UNFORTUNATELY, THEY APPEAR TO HAVE PLENTY OF COMPANY. 10:00:04 EXXON AND OTHER OIL COMPANIES ARE JUST AS UNPREPARED TO 10:00:06 RESPOND TO A MAJOR OIL SPILL IN THE GULF AS BP. 10:00:11 I'VE BEEN EXAMINING THE OIL SPILL RESPONSE PLAN OF 10:00:15 EXXONMOBIL, THE LARGEST OIL COMPANY IN THE UNITED STATES. 10:00:18 THIS DOCUMENT AS MR. WAXMAN SHOWED US IS OVER 500 PAGES 10:00:22 LONG. IN MANY RESPECTS IT IS VIRTUALLY 10:00:25 INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM BP'S RESPONSE PLAN AND RESPONSE PLANS 10:00:27 OF THE OTHER MAJOR OIL COMPANIES. 10:00:30 AT THIS TIME, MR. CHAIRMAN, I'D ASK UNANIMOUS CONSENT THAT THE 10:00:33 RESPONSE PLANS OF THE MAJOR OIL COMPANIES BE MADE PART OF THE 10:00:36 RECORD. WITHOUT OBJECTION, SO 10:00:38 ORDERED. THANK YOU. 10:00:39 THERE IS ONE MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EXXONMOBIL'S PLAN AND 10:00:42 THE OTHER RESPONSE PLAN. THE SECTION DEALING WITH THE 10:00:47 MEDIUM. BP, SHELL, CONOCOPHILLIPS AND 10:00:49 CHEVRON HAVE PLANS WITH SHORT MEDIA RELATION SECTIONS. 10:00:53 EXXONMOBIL HAS AN ENTIRE 0-PAGE APPENDIX DEVOTED TO HOW TO 10:00:58 RESPOND TO THE PRESS. THE MEDIA SECTION IN THE 10:01:01 EXXONMOBIL PLAN DIRECTS PUBLIC AFFAIRS PERSONNEL TO AS YOU CAN 10:01:05 SEE ON DISPLAY MAINTAIN ON CAMERA SKILL PROFICIENCY. 10:01:09 IT ALSO EXPLAINS THAT COMMUNICATIONS WHICH CONVEY CARE 10:01:14 AND CONCERN FOR THE SITUATION AND PROVIDE RELEVANT FACTUAL 10:01:19 INFORMATION ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF EXXONMOBIL'S RESPONSE. 10:01:23 IT SETS UP A FOUR-TIERED SYSTEM WHO CAN RESPOND TO MEDIA 10:01:26 INQUIRIES. THE HIGHEST LEVEL CATEGORY "D" 10:01:32 DICTATE SPECIAL TREATMENT ABOUT QUESTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING 10:01:36 AND THE "EXXON VALDEZ" AND CONTAINS 13 PREDRAFTED PRESS 10:01:41 RELEASES FOR ALMOST ANY OCCASION. 10:01:54 THERE IS A FULLY DRAFTED PRESS RELEASE FOR AN ACCIDENT 10:01:59 INVOLVING EXXONMOBIL FACILITY. IF THE INJURY OCCURS OFF-SITE, 10:02:02 THERE IS A SEPARATE PRESS RELEASE FOR THAT. 10:02:04 SIX OF THE STOCKPILED PRESS RELEASES ARE READY TO EXPRESS 10:02:08 THEY DEEPLY REGRET AN OUTCOME WHILE TWO OR MORE PRESS RELEASES 10:02:13 STAND READY TO EXPRESSION THAT EXXONMOBIL IS DEEPLY SADDENED. 10:02:17 THE MEDIA SECTION CONTAINS A TOPIC GUIDE WITH TALKING POINTS 10:02:21 ON OVER 65 ISSUES. AND FIVE DIFFERENT PLACES THE 10:02:24 PLAN DIRECTS THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS AGENTS IS TOY "WE COMPLY WITH 10:02:30 ALL APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS AND APPLY REASONABLE 10:02:33 STANDARDS WHERE LAWS AND REGULATIONS DO NOT EXIST." 10:02:36 IF A PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER IS ASKED ABOUT CRIMINAL CHARGES, 10:02:39 THE PLAN INSTRUCTIONS THEM TO SAY "WE BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE 10:02:42 NO GROUNDS FOR SUCH CHARGES. THIS WAS CLEARLY AN ACCIDENT AND 10:02:46 WE ARE WORKING TO RESPOND TO THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS OF THE 10:02:50 INCIDENT." THAT TALKING POINT IS READY TO 10:02:52 GO BEFORE A HYPOTHETICAL INCIDENT EVEN OCCURS, BEFORE 10:02:56 EXXONMOBIL COULD HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHETHER IT WAS ACTUALLY AN 10:02:59 ACCIDENT OR IF THERE ARE ANY GROUNDS FOR CRIMINAL CHARGES. 10:03:02 IN SHORT, EXXONMOBIL HAS METICULOUSLY ANTICIPATED L 10:03:07 VIRTUALLY EVERY CONVERSATION THAT THE COMPANY MIGHT NEED TO 10:03:10 HAVE WITH THE MEDIA IN THE DAYS FOLLOWING AN OIL SPILL IN THE 10:03:12 GULF OF MEXICO. MY PROBLEM IS, THAT EXXONMOBIL 10:03:17 HAS GIVEN FAR LESS ATTENTION TO ACTUALLY CONTROLLING THE SPILL. 10:03:22 WHILE EXXONMOBIL HAS 40 PAGES ON ITS MEDIA RESPONSE STRATEGY, ITS 10:03:26 PLAN FOR RESOURCE PROTECTION IS ONLY 5 PAGES LONG AND ITS PLAN 10:03:30 FOR OIL REMOVAL IS JUST 9 PAGES LONG. 10:03:34 WE'VE ALL SEEN THE HORRIBLE IMAGES OF PELICANS AND OTHER 10:03:39 WILDLIFE COATED IN OIL FROM THE SPILL. 10:03:42 EXXONMOBIL'S PLAN IS MORE WORRIED ABOUT PUBLIC PERCEPTION 10:03:46 THAN WILDLIFE GIVEN THE MEDIA PLAN IS FIVE TIMES LONGER THAN 10:03:49 THE PLAN FOR PROTECTING WILDLIFE AND THE CANNED PREDRAFTED DEEPLY 10:03:54 SADDENED PRESS RELEASE RINGS HOLLOW WITH THE LOSS OF THE 11 10:03:57 PEOPLE WHO DIED ON THE DEEPWATER HORIZON RIG. 10:04:01 EXXONMOBIL'S PLAN IS A PERFECT METAPHOR FOR WHAT'S GOING WRONG 10:04:05 IN THE GULF TODAY. THE OIL COMPANY RESPONSE PLANKS 10:04:07 ARE GREAT FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS. THEY ALLOW THE OIL COMPANY TO 10:04:11 SAY WE HAVE A 500-PAGE PLAN TO SHOWS THEY'RE PREPARED FOR ANY 10:04:17 CONTINGENCY BUT THESE PLANS ARE VIRTUALLY WORTHLESS WHEN A SPILL 10:04:20 ACTUALLY OCCURS AND THAT'S EXACTLY THE KIND OF MISPLACED 10:04:24 PRIORITIES THAT HAS LED TO THIS DISASTER. 10:04:26 I YIELD BACK THE BALANCE OF MY TIME. 10:04:29 WE THANK THE GENTLEMAN. THE CHAIR NOW RECOGNIZES THE 10:04:32 RANKING MEMBER OF THE OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATION SUBCOMMITTEE, 10:04:37 THE GENTLEMAN FROM TEXAS, MR. BURGESS. 10:04:39 I THANK THE CHAIRMAN AND I DO HAVE TO WONDER WHAT ANY OF US 10:04:44 EXPECT TO ACHIEVE WITH THIS HEARING TODAY. 10:04:46 I KNOW THAT THE FOLKS AT HOME ARE SAYING AND THINKING THEY 10:04:55 WANT IT TO STOP TODAY BUT IT CONTINUES TO LEAK BUT I DON'T 10:04:58 THINK ANYONE BEHIND THE DAIS WILL TELL US HOW TO TURN THAT 10:05:03 FLOW OFF TODAY. YOU KNOW, THE MAJORITY DID NOT 10:05:05 CALL THIS HEARING TO TALK ABOUT MEANINGFUL SOLUTIONS TO SHUTTING 10:05:10 OFF THAT FLOW IN THE GULF TODAY BECAUSE THIS SITUATION REALLY 10:05:15 PRESENTS ITSELF TOO GREAT AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE SOME MEMBERS 10:05:18 OF THIS COMMITTEE THE IMPETUS FOR PASSING EVEN MORE 10:05:23 REGULATIONS. AND LIKELY THERE WILL ALSO BE 10:05:25 THE OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE ENERGY TAXES THAT AMERICANS WILL 10:05:29 PAY INTO THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE UNDER THE GUISE OF CLEAN ENERGY 10:05:33 OR CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION. THE PRESIDENT'S CHIEF OF STAFF, 10:05:36 RAHM EMANUEL, SPELLED OUT THE DEMOCRATIC STRATEGY FOR NATIONAL 10:05:39 FRG POLICY BEST WHEN HE ANNOUNCED YOU NEVER WANT TO LET 10:05:42 A SERIOUS CRISIS GO TO WASTE AND THIS IS A SERIOUS CRISIS. 10:05:47 BUT IN SOME WAYS, MR. CHAIRMAN, THIS COMMITTEE UNDERMINES ITS 10:05:52 OWN BELIEF, 11 LIVES WERE LOST WHEN WE CAPITALIZE ON A TRAGEDY 10:05:58 TO PUSH FORWARD A POLITICAL AGENDA. 10:06:01 NOW, I HOPE THE MAJORITY MEMBERS PROVE ME WRONG AND I HOPE THAT 10:06:05 DURING THIS HEARING THE MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE WILL HAVE A 10:06:08 LASERLIKE FOCUS ON TRYING TO DISCERN OW WE STOP THIS LEAK. 10:06:11 BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY ALL THAT MATTERS RIGHT NOW. 10:06:14 THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS TO THE FISHERMEN, TO THE SHRIMPERS AND 10:06:18 INDIVIDUALS WHOSE FAMILIES AND LIVELIHOODS HAVE BEEN PUT ON OIL 10:06:21 WHILE THE WELL CONTINUES TO SPILL INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO, 10:06:24 NOT HOW MUCH WE SPEND IN THE FUTURE ON SOLAR AND WIND 10:06:27 TECHNOLOGY, BOTH OF WHICH I SUPPORT, NOT HOW MUCH WE INVEST 10:06:30 IN NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY AS CLEAN AS THAT MAY BE AND CERTAINLY HOW 10:06:35 MUCH THIS CONGRESS INTENDS TO CRIPPLE THE AMERICAN ECONOMY 10:06:38 EVEN FURTHER THAN IT ALREADY HAS WITH JOB-KILLING LEGISLATION. 10:06:42 WE'VE HAD THOSE DEBATES. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THOSE 10:06:45 DEBATES IN THE FUTURE, BUT TODAY, TODAY LET'S KEEP THE 10:06:48 FOCUS WHERE IT BELONGS, AND IT'S PRETTY SIMPLE. 10:06:51 PLUG THE WELL, STOP THE SPILL, CLEAN THE GULF. 10:06:56 SO, MR. CHAIRMAN, I'M GOING TO RESPECTFULLY REQUEST, I KNOW YOU 10:07:00 SUBMITTED A LIST OF QUESTIONS THAT YOU WANT THE WITNESSES TO 10:07:03 ANSWER. I'M GOING TO ASK THEM TO INCLUDE 10:07:05 IN THEIR OPENING REMARKS HOW -- WHAT IDEAS THEY HAVE THAT WILL 10:07:09 STOP THE LEAK BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY THE QUESTION WE WANT 10:07:11 ANSWERED TODAY. IF THIS HEARING IS NOT ABOUT 10:07:14 STOPPING THE LEAK THEN WHY ARE WE HERE? 10:07:17 IN THE ALTERNATIVE IF THE WITNESSES TODAY REALLY DON'T 10:07:20 HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION, THEN RESPECTFULLY ONE MIGHT 10:07:22 SUGGEST THAT THIS COMMITTEE POSTPONE THE HEARING UNTIL WE 10:07:25 HAVE THE WITNESSES IN FRONT OF US WHO CAN ANSWER THAT QUESTION. 10:07:29 FINALLY, I BELIEVE THE MAJORITY IS LOOKING AT CRAFTING 10:07:32 LEGISLATION IN RESPONSE TO THE SPILL AND I'M CONCERNED THAT 10:07:34 THIS TRAGEDY WILL LEAVE CONGRESS TO DO WHAT IT SO OFTEN DOES AND 10:07:39 RUSH INTO WRITING LEGISLATION AND WITH REALLY NO THOUGHT TO 10:07:43 WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES DOWN THE ROAD WILL BE. 10:07:47 A WEEK AGO THE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS HAD 10:07:51 A SUBCOMMITTEE FIELD HEARING IN LOUISIANA. 10:07:53 AND WE HEARD TESTIMONY AND IT WAS PRETTY TOUGH TESTIMONY FROM 10:07:57 TWO OF THE WIDOWS OF -- TWO WOMEN WHO HAD LOST HUSBANDS ON 10:08:02 THE DEEPWATER HORIZON. BOTH WIDOWS STATED UNEQUIVOCALLY 10:08:07 THEY BELIEVE THE CURRENT REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS FOR 10:08:09 OFFSHORE DRILLING ARE MORE THAN SUFFICIENT TO KEEP THE MEN AND 10:08:12 WOMEN WORKING ON THOSE OFFSHORE RIGS SAFE. 10:08:15 THE QUESTION THEN BECOMES IN WHETHER THE REGULATIONS ARE 10:08:19 BEING PROPERLY ENFORCED. MRS. NATALIE RASHTO TOLD OUR 10:08:23 COMMITTEE "AFTER ALL OF THE SAFETY SCHOOLS, MEETINGS, FIRE 10:08:27 DRILLS AND SAFETY REGULATIONS, I JUST KNEW HE WAS SAFE. 10:08:32 WE NEED TO FOCUS ON MAKING SAFETY THE MOST IMPORTANT 10:08:37 PRIORITY, TO THE TO FOCUS ON MAKING MORE SAFETY REGULATIONS, 10:08:40 BUT ON WAYS TO EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENT AND USE THE ONES 10:08:43 ALREADY IN PLACE." MISS COURTNEY KEMP FOLLOWED WITH 10:08:50 HER STATEMENT, "I'M NOT HERE TODAY TO SUGGEST THAT CONGRESS 10:08:54 IMPLEMENT MORE SAFETY REGULATIONS, BUT RATHER TO 10:08:57 ENCOURAGE YOU TO HOLD COMPANIES ACCOUNTABLE FOR SAFETY 10:09:01 REGULATIONS THAT ARE ALREADY IN PLACE AND MERELY NEGLECTED." 10:09:07 AND MISS KEMP WENT ON TO SAY OFFICE ACCOUNTS FOR 75% TO 80% 10:09:11 OF ALL OF THE JOBS IN HER LITTLE TOWN IN LOUISIANA. 10:09:15 SHE SAID THAT LESS OFFSHORE DRILLING WOULD DEVASTATE THE 10:09:18 LOCAL ECONOMIES OF NOT ONLY COASTAL LOUISIANA BUT ALSO THE 10:09:22 ECONOMIES OF OTHER GULF COAST COMMUNITIES WHO RELY ON OFFSHORE 10:09:26 DRILLING AND OIL RIG JOBS. EVERY JOB ON THE RIG IS TON FOR 10:09:31 FOUR TO FIVE JOBS ONSHORE. WHEN ALL OF THIS IS SAID AND 10:09:34 DONE WE NEED TO FIND OUT WHY THE AGENCY, WHY OUR FEDERAL AGENCIES 10:09:39 CHARGED WITH ENFORCING SAFETY REGULATIONS APPEARED TO FEEL AS 10:09:43 IF THAT JOB WAS UNIMPORTANT. WE NEED TO FIND OUT WHY THEY 10:09:48 WERE ASLEEP AT THE SWITCH AND CERTAINLY WE NEED TO HOLD ANY 10:09:52 PARTY ACCOUNTABLE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL THAT SKIRTED SAFETY 10:09:56 MEASURES. BUT FIRST WE MUST STOP THE LEAK. 10:10:00 MR. CHAIRMAN, I'LL YIELD BACK THE BALANCE OF MY TIME. 10:10:02 WE THANK THE CHAIRMAN. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE 10:10:05 CHAIRMAN EMERITUS OF THE COMMITTEE, THE GENTLEMAN FROM 10:10:09 MICHIGAN, MR. DINGELL. THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THIS 10:10:16 HEARING. I HAVE A SPLENDID STATEMENT 10:10:18 WHICH I'M SURE EVERYONE WILL ENJOY READING AND IN ORDER TO 10:10:22 SAVE THE TIME OF THE COMMITTEE, I ASK UNANIMOUS CONSENT TO 10:10:27 INSERT IT INTO THE RECORD. WITHOUT OBJECTION, SO 10:10:29 ORDERED. ALL RIGHT. 10:10:39 THE GENTLEMAN'S TIME IS EXPIRED. THE CARE RECOGNIZES THE 10:10:43 GENTLEMAN FROM PENNSYLVANIA, MR. DOYLE. 10:10:44 MR. CHAIRMAN, THANK YOU FOR CONVENING THIS HEARING TODAY TO 10:10:47 EXAMINE THE IMPACTS OF OUR NATION'S DEPENDENCE ON OIL AND 10:10:51 THE SAFETY OF DRILLING OPERATIONS. 10:10:53 WE'RE 57 DAYS INTO THIS ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC 10:10:57 TRAGEDY AND THE RESPONSE EFFORT IS ONGOING. 10:10:59 WE'VE LEARNED THAT THIS GULF OIL SPILL IS, IN FACT, THE LARGEST 10:11:03 IN U.S. HISTORY, NEW ESTIMATES SHOW THAT UNLIKE BP'S PREVIOUS 10:11:07 CLAIM OF 5,000 BARRELS LEAKING INTO THE GULF EACH DAY, IT'S 10:11:11 MORE LIKELY ABOUT 40,000 BARELIES ARE LEAKING INTO THE 10:11:14 GULF EACH DAY, BUT NO ONE REALLY KNOWS. 10:11:17 AS SUCH, PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS ISSUED A MORATORIUM ON ALL 33 OF 10:11:21 THE DEEPWATER DRILLING RIGS IN THE GULF OF MEXICO FOR SIX 10:11:25 MONTHS OR UNTIL THE COMPLETION OF THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION 10:11:29 INVESTIGATING THE SPILL. THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND 10:11:33 ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION HAS TOLD US ABOUT THE INABILITY OF 10:11:35 THE ADMINISTRATION TO HANDLE AN ADDITIONAL CONCURRENT OIL SPILL 10:11:38 AT THIS TIME AND AS HURRICANE SEASON BEGINS WITH CONDITIONS 10:11:43 RIFE WITH POTENTIAL FOR DISASTROUS STORMS I BELIEVE THE 10:11:47 ADMINISTRATION IS TAKING THE PROPER STEPS TO AVOID AN EVEN 10:11:49 MORE CATASTROPHIC EVENT. IN FACT, RECENT EVENTS ALL OVER 10:11:54 THE COUNTRY MERIT THE NEED FOR A SERIOUS REVIEW OF SAFETY 10:11:57 PRACTICES IN THE ENTIRE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY. 10:12:00 JUST THIS WEEKEND, CHEVRON SPILLED AS MUCH AS 500 BARRELS 10:12:04 OF OIL INTO A STREAM IN UTAH AND THEN THE LAST FEW WEEKS, THE 10:12:10 MARSELLUS SHELL SAW TWO DIFFERENT BLOW-OUTS OF NATURAL 10:12:12 GAS WELLS ONE IN WEST VIRGINIA AND ONE IN MY HOME STATE OF 10:12:15 PENNSYLVANIA. IN THE BLOW-OUT IN PENNSYLVANIA, 10:12:18 THE BLOW-OUT PREVENTER FAILED ALLOWING NATURAL GAS AND 10:12:24 FRACKING FLUID TO GUSH FOR 16 HOURS WHILE THE CREW WITH THE 10:12:27 SKILLS TO CAP IT HAD TO BE KNOWN IN FROM TEXAS. 10:12:30 ONCE THEY ARRIVED IT ONLY TOOK THEM AN HOUR TO CAP THE WELL. 10:12:33 IN WEST VIRGINIA, THE GAS EXPLOSION CAUSED SEVEN WORKERS 10:12:36 TO BE INJURED AND FLAMES BURNED FOR DAYS BEFORE IT WAS BROUGHT 10:12:39 UNDER CONTROL. OUR GROWING ENERGY DEMANDS 10:12:43 REQUIRE THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO USE NATURAL RESOURCES UNDER OUR 10:12:46 LAND AND SEA. BUT THERE IS SIMPLY NO REASON WE 10:12:49 SHOULD CONTINUE TO EXTRACT OUR NATURAL RESOURCES IN A 10:12:55 HEDGEMONIC AND VORACIOUS STYLE. THE OIL RESERVOIRS AREN'T GOING 10:12:59 ANYWHERE. THE NATURAL GAS IN THE MARSELLUS 10:13:02 SHELF ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE. I THINK IT'S TIME WE TAKE A STEP 10:13:06 BACK TO LEARN HOW TO DO IT BETTER AND SAFER AND FOR 10:13:10 SUFFICIENTLY. WITH THAT I YIELD BACK MY TIME. 10:13:12 THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLEMAN FROM ILLINOIS, 10:13:19 MR. SHIMKUS. WILL WE GET THE ADDITIONAL 10:13:23 MINUTES FOR QUESTIONS IF WE WAIVE OUR OPENING STATEMENT. 10:13:25 THAT IS CORRECT. I WAIVE MY OPENING STATEMENT. 10:13:29 THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES MR. SHADDOCK. 10:13:35 I SIMILARLY WILL WAIVE MY OPENING STATEMENT. 10:13:38 THE GENTLEMAN WAIVES HIS STATEMENT. 10:13:41 WE RECOGNIZE THE GENTLEMAN FROM MISSOURI, MR. WLUNTS. 10:13:46 WE RECOGNIZE MR. SULLIVAN. I WAIVE MY OPENING STATEMENT 10:13:50 TOO. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE 10:13:52 GENTLEMAN FROM ALABAMA, MR. GRIFFITH. 10:13:55 I'D LIKE TO THANK THE CHAIRMAN AND RANKING MEMBER FOR 10:13:58 CALLING THIS IMPORTANT HEARING TODAY AND THE WITNESSES FOR 10:14:00 TAKING TIME TO COME BEFORE OUR SUBCOMMITTEE TO DISCUSS DRILLING 10:14:04 IN OUR CURRENT AND FUTURE ENERGY PORTFOLIO. 10:14:07 OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY MUST BE STOPPING THE FLOW OF OIL. 10:14:10 THAT'S CERTAINLY OBVIOUS. IT'S THE JOB OF THIS CONGRESS TO 10:14:12 DO WHATEVER WE CAN TO AID THE UNIFIED COMMAND IN REACHING THIS 10:14:16 GOAL. THIS IS A TIME OF ENGINEERING 10:14:18 AND ACTION. IT'S NOT A TIME TO HASTILY PUT 10:14:21 TOGETHER KNEE-JERK ENERGY POLICIES THAT WILL JEOPARDIZE 10:14:24 OUR ENERGY AND ECONOMIC SECURITY IN THE FUTURE. 10:14:26 IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THIS COMMITTEE REMEMBER THAT THE 10:14:29 UNITED STATES IS PART OF THE GLOBAL ENERGY ECONOMY AND, 10:14:32 THEREFORE, ALL POLICIES DISCUSSED MUST TAKE INTO 10:14:35 CONSIDERATION THAT WE ARE ONLY 4% OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION. 10:14:40 IF WE ENACT POLICIES THAT DRIVE DRILLING OUT OF U.S. WATERS 10:14:43 THESE COMPANIES WILL NOT CEASE TO DRILL. 10:14:45 BUT WE WILL CEASE TO BE ABLE TO ENSURE THAT OIL AND GAS 10:14:48 PRODUCTION IS DONE IN A SAFE AND IN AN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY 10:14:52 MANNER. AS WE AWAIT THE OUTCOME OF THE 10:14:54 MANY INVESTIGATIONS TAKING PLACE, IT IS VITAL WE LEARN 10:14:58 LESSONS FROM THIS INCIDENT SO THAT WE CAN KEEP OUR WORKERS AND 10:15:01 ENVIRONMENT SAFE WHILE CONTINUING TO PRODUCE OUR 10:15:04 VALUABLE OIL AND GAS RESOURCES. THE MORATORIUM PUT IN PLACE BY 10:15:09 THIS ADMINISTRATION DOES NOT REFLECT THE PRESIDENT'S PREVIEW 10:15:13 AND THIS KNEE-JERK REACTION TO CREATE A MORATORIUM IS SIMPLY A 10:15:17 POLITICAL EXPRESSION EMBRYONIC IN NATURE WHICH HAS NO PLACE IN 10:15:21 A SITUATION THIS SERIOUS. THERE'S STILL MANY QUESTIONS TO 10:15:25 BE ANSWERED ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED ON DEEPWATER HORIZON. 10:15:28 HOWEVER, I THINK WE MUST ALSO QUESTION THE FEDERAL RESPONSE. 10:15:31 GOVERNMENT CANNOT FACILITATE A QUICK, EFFECTIVE RESPONSE AND 10:15:35 THIS EVENT HAS BEEN YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THAT. 10:15:38 TO ECHO SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES, I THINK WE MUST TAKE A LONG, HARD 10:15:42 LOOK AT THE FEDERAL RESPONSE WHILE ALSO LOOKING AT THE 10:15:45 RESPONSE OF BP. THIS DISJOINTED EFFORT HAS NOT 10:15:50 AIDED IN HELPING TO CONTAIN AND END THE SPILL. 10:15:54 THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR COMING TODAY AND I 10:15:57 LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR TESTIMONY. I YIELD BACK, MR. CHAIRMAN. 10:16:00 GREAT. THE GENTLEMAN'S TIME IS EXPIRED. 10:16:03 THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLEMAN FROM WASHINGTON STATE. 10:16:09 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. TODAY'S HEARING IS ENTICELED 10:16:13 DRILLING DOWN ON AMERICA'S DRILLING FUTURE AND SAFETY AND 10:16:16 SECURITY AND WE HAVE THE FIVE LEADERS OF THIS INDUSTRY AND I'M 10:16:20 INTERESTED IN WHAT THEY'RE SAYING IN THREE RESPECTS. 10:16:22 ONE I THINK WE NEED TO ASK IS THE INDUSTRY REALLY SHOWN 10:16:26 ACCOUNTABILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT THE LEADERS ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR 10:16:30 SAFETY? SO I WILL BE INTERESTED IN 10:16:32 FINDING OUT HOW MANY PEOPLE AT BRITISH PETROLEUM HAVE LOST 10:16:35 THEIR JOBS TO DATE AS A RESULT OF THE MOST HORRIFIC T 10:16:39 ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE IN AMERICAN HISTORY. 10:16:41 I'LL BE INTERESTED IN THAT NUMBER. 10:16:42 NUMBER TWO, I WILL BE INTERESTED IN THE NUMBERS FROM THE LEADERS 10:16:44 OF THE INDUSTRY WHAT THEY ARE INVESTING IN AN EFFORT TO 10:16:49 DEVELOP TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN REDUCE THE RISK OF OFFSHORE 10:16:52 DRILLING. THE NUMBERS WE HAVE SEEN IN OUR 10:16:54 QUESTIONS TO THE WITNESSES SO FAR ARE REALLY QUITE ASTOUNDING 10:16:59 IN HOW SMALL THEY ARE. THEY ALL ARE LESS THAN 0.1% OF 10:17:04 THEIR PROFITS HAVE BEEN INVESTED IN CLEANER TECHNOLOGY TO TRY 10:17:09 THOUGH REDUCE THE RISK OF THIS TYPE OF DISASTER. 10:17:12 THAT'S LESS THAN 0.01% OF THEIR GROSS REVENUES. 10:17:16 IT'S STUNNING TO ME IF THAT IS THE FACTS BUT WOULD LIKE TO ASK 10:17:19 THE LEADERS IF THAT'S THE CASE WHY THEY HAVE EXPOSED THIS 10:17:23 COUNTRY TO THIS TYPE OF RISK WITH SUCH REDUCED INVESTMENT. 10:17:26 AND, THIRD, IT IS APPROPRIATE TO ASK ABOUT THE INVESTMENT OF THE 10:17:29 INDUSTRY IN CLEAN ENERGY. IN THE REASON, IN ALL OF THE 10:17:34 LEADERS TODAY WILL ADMIT THIS, EVERY SINGLE OIL WELL WE HAVE 10:17:38 EVER DRILLED IS AN INVISIBLE OIL SPILL. 10:17:42 BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE WELL WE DRILL RESULTS IN PUTTING CARBON 10:17:46 DIOXIDE IN THE AIR WHICH GOES INTO THE ATMOSPHERE WHICH GOES 10:17:49 INTO SOLUTION IN THE OCEANS AND HAVE MADE THE OCEANS 30% MORE 10:17:52 ACIDIC THAN THEY ARE TODAY. THEY WILL BE SO ACIDIC BY THE 10:17:55 TIME MY GRANDCHILD LEAVES THE PLANET WE WON'T HAVE CORAL REEFS 10:18:00 ANYWHERE ON THE PLANET. EVERY SINGLE OIL WELL IS AN OIL 10:18:04 SPILL SO WE WILL BE INTERESTED IN KNOWING WHAT THESE LEADERS 10:18:06 ARE BRINGING TO THE TABLE IN AN EFFORT TO REDUCE OUR DEPENDENCE 10:18:09 ON FOSSIL FUELS IN AN EFFORT TO FIND CLEAN ENERGY AND PREVENT 10:18:13 THIS TYPE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER. 10:18:15 UNFORTUNATELY, IT WON'T BE THE NUMBERS WE'RE LOOKING FOR, BUT 10:18:17 HOPEFULLY WE'LL INSPIRE SOME CHANGES. 10:18:18 THANK YOU. GREAT, GENTLEMAN'S TIME HAS 10:18:22 EXPIRED. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE 10:18:24 GENTLEMAN FROM KENTUCKY, MR. WHITFIELD. 10:18:27 MR. CHAIRMAN, I WILL WAIVE MY OPENING STATEMENT. 10:18:30 THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLEMAN FROM TEXAS, MR. HALL. 10:18:35 MR. CHAIRMAN, I CAN LOOK BACK A LOT BETTER THAN I CAN LOOK 10:18:40 FORWARD AND WHEN I LOOK BACK, I LOOKED AT TWO ENTITIES THAT 10:18:43 OUGHT TO BE LOOKED TO THE -- THERE HAVE BEEN SUGGESTIONS THAT 10:18:46 THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OUGHT TO PAY A MORE PROMINENT ROLE IN 10:18:49 DISASTERS SUCH AS TAKING OVER THE PROCESS OF CAPPING THE WELL. 10:18:53 WELL, THERE'S TWO THINGS YOU'D LOOK AT THERE AND ONE IS THE 10:18:57 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE TWO ENTITIES, THE UNITED STATES OF 10:19:00 AMERICA OR BRITISH PETROLEUM AND I FIND BRITISH PETROLEUM IN A 10:19:03 LOT BETTER SHAPE THAN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 10:19:06 IT'S THEIRS -- I THINK IT INITIALLY WE SHOULD HAVE TURNED 10:19:10 IT OVER TO BRITISH -- TO CAP THEIR WELL AND AFTER THEY CAPPED 10:19:14 THEIR WELL WE'LL TELL THEM HOW MUCH THEY OWE EVERYBODY ELSE AND 10:19:18 I DON'T THINK THIS PRESIDENT KNOWS ANY MORE ABOUT CAPPING A 10:19:21 WELL OR GOING OUT AND COUNTING THOSE BIRDS OR PICKING UP LITTLE 10:19:26 PARTS OF THE WASTE THAN HE KNEW ABOUT THE OLYMPICS AND I RESENT 10:19:31 THE FACT HE'S TRYING TO BLAME SOME OF THIS ON BUSH WHEN BUSH 10:19:34 ON 9/11 I DON'T RECOLLECT HIM EVER ACCUSING CLINTON. 10:19:37 I YIELD BACK MY TIME. THE GENTLEMAN'S TIME HAS 10:19:40 EXPIRED. WE RECOGNIZE THE GENTLE LADY 10:19:45 FROM CALIFORNIA, MISS MATSUI. THANKS FOR CALLING TODAY'S 10:19:48 HEARING. I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK THE 10:19:53 WITNESSES. THE FAMILIES OF THOSE WHO LOST 10:19:54 THEIR LIVES OR HAD THEIR LIVELIHOODS SEVERELY IMPACTED BY 10:19:58 THE DISASTER OF UNPRECEDENTED PROPORTIONS DESERVE OUR SUPPORT. 10:20:03 NOW AS WE CONTINUE TO SEEK ANSWERS FROM BP AND OTHERS ABOUT 10:20:05 THE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT, WE MUST HOLD THOSE RESPONSIBLE 10:20:10 ACCOUNTABLE. THE FIRST PRIORITY OF BP MUST BE 10:20:12 TO STOP THE LEAK FROM CONTINUING TO SPREAD AND TO ENSURE THE 10:20:16 CLEANUP EFFORTS ARE CARRIED OUT TO PROTECT OUR COASTAL 10:20:20 COMMUNITIES AND THE FAMILIES WHOSE LIVELIHOODS DEPEND ON IT 10:20:24 AND IT IS INCUMBENT ON ALL OF US TO MAKE CERTAIN THIS NEVER 10:20:28 HAPPENS AGAIN. THE UNFORTUNATE PART IS WE HAVE 10:20:33 BEEN HERE BEFORE. I REMEMBER MORE THAN 40 YEARS 10:20:37 AGO WHEN UNION OIL'S PLATFORM "A" EXPLODED OFF THE COAST OF MY 10:20:41 HOME STATE. MY CONCERN IS THAT TODAY COULD 10:20:44 BE LIKE 1969 ALL OVER AGAIN. AND THAT WE ARE SETTING 10:20:48 OURSELVES UP FOR ANOTHER FOUR DECADES OF MORE OF THE SAME. 10:20:52 SO THE QUESTION I HAVE TODAY IS, WHAT HAS CHANGED? 10:20:56 WHAT CAN THE OIL COMPANIES TELL US TODAY TO ASSURE US THAT THIS 10:21:00 STORY IS NOT SIMPLY REPEATING ITSELF? 10:21:03 BECAUSE WHAT THE GULF REGION AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DO NOT WANT 10:21:07 TO HEAR NOW ARE THE SAME EXCUSES THAT WERE EMPLOYED DECADES AGO 10:21:13 ABOUT OIL BEING OUR LARGEST AND MOST RELIABLE ENERGY OPTION. 10:21:17 IN FACT, THE BP OIL SPILL U 10:21:24 UNDERSCORES THE NEED TO LOOK FOR CLEANER ALTERNATIVES THAT WILL 10:21:26 SAVE OUR ENVIRONMENT FROM HARM. IF WE HAVE LEARNED ANYTHING FROM 10:21:30 THE DISASTER, IT IS THAT WE MUST CONTINUE TO EXPLORE CLEAN TECH 10:21:35 ALTERNATIVES TO BIG OIL. TODAY'S HEARING IS A STEP IN 10:21:38 THAT DIRECTION. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 10:21:40 AND I YIELD BACK THE BALANCE OF MY TIME. 10:21:42 GREAT. GENTLE LADY'S TIME HAS EXPIRED. 10:21:46 WE RECOGNIZE THE GENTLE LADY FROM CALIFORNIA, MISS BONO MACK. 10:21:50 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. I THANK YOU FOR YIELDING ME THIS 10:21:52 TIME. I WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO 10:21:54 HEAR FROM THE WITNESSES TODAY ABOUT OUR ENERGY SECURITY AND 10:21:57 THE ONGOING OIL SPILL, OPERATIONS IN THE GULF. 10:21:59 THE COMPANIES REPRESENTED BY THE WITNESSES AT THE TABLE ARE AT 10:22:02 THE FOREFRONT OF ENERGY RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH 10:22:06 AND YOUR INSIGHTS WILL BE VERY IMPORTANT FOR HOW TO ENSURE A 10:22:08 SPILL OF THE CURRENT MAGNITUDE NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. 10:22:12 AS WE JUST HEARD FROM MY OTHER COLLEAGUE IN CALIFORNIA MANY OF 10:22:15 US IN CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CERTAINLY STILL 10:22:18 RECALL THE OIL SPILL IN SANTA BARBARA FROM 1969. 10:22:21 TO GET A SENSE OF THE MAGNITUDE OF WHAT WE'RE FACING 10:22:24 ADMINISTRATION SCIENTISTS AS OF YESTERDAY WERE ESTIMATING THAT 10:22:27 BP'S WELL COULD BE SPEWING AS MUCH AS FOUR TIMES THAT OIL 10:22:31 EVERY DAY AS WE SPILLED DURING THE ENTIRE SANTA BARBARA 10:22:34 DISASTER. AMERICAN LIVES HAVE ALREADY BEEN 10:22:36 TRAGICALLY LOST AND WE'VE YET TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE 10:22:39 ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS SO THERE IS SIGNIFICANT 10:22:41 WORK AHEAD. OUR PRIORITY FOR OUT AND FOR THE 10:22:44 DAYS AHEAD AS WE'VE ALL SAID MUST BE TO COMPLETELY STOP THE 10:22:48 LEAK. I HOPE OUR WITNESSES ARE WILLING 10:22:50 TO OFFER WHATEVER ASSISTANCE THEY CAN TO ENSURE THAT THAT IS 10:22:53 OUR FOCUS. I'M FAIRLY CERTAIN IT IS WHAT 10:22:55 THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT. AS WE SIT HERE TODAY NEARLY TWO 10:22:59 MONTHS HAVE PASSED SINCE THE ORIGINAL DEEPWATER HORIZON 10:23:02 EXPLOSION. WHAT HAVE WE SEEN IN THE 10:23:04 INTERIM? A NUMBER OF CHARGES AGAINST BP 10:23:06 THAT STILL DESERVE ANSWERS, NEW GOVERNMENT COMMITTEES SET UP 10:23:10 ACROSS AGENCIES THAT ARE SLOW IN CRUCIAL DECISIONMAKING AND MOST 10:23:14 IMPORTANTLY THE LIVELIHOODS OF SO MANY GULF RESIDENTS ARE BEING 10:23:18 SEVERELY THREATENED. I WILL BE INTERESTED TO LEARN 10:23:20 ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGIES THAT THESE COMPANIES HAVE INVESTED IN 10:23:23 TO HELP PROTECT AGAINST ANY FUTURE SPILL. 10:23:25 MR. CHAIRMAN, WE AS A FACE OUGHT TO BE DEVOTING ALL OF OUR 10:23:29 RESOURCES TO THIS DISASTER. AS THE ECHOES OF THE SANTA 10:23:32 BARBARA SPILL STILL HAUNT US DECADES LATER AND AS YEARS OF 10:23:36 FAILED ENERGY POLICIES DO AS WELL HOW THIS CRISIS IS MANAGED 10:23:39 OR MISMANAGED MATTERS. WE DO NOT KNOW THE LONG-TERM 10:23:42 CONSEQUENCES YET FROM THE SPILL BUT THE DEVASTATION TO THE 10:23:45 ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY WILL BE LONG-LASTING AND HAVE 10:23:47 NATIONAL IMPLICATIONS. I APPRECIATE OUR WITNESSES BEING 10:23:50 HERE TODAY AND I YIELD BACK MY TIME. 10:23:52 THANK YOU. WE THANK THE GENTLE LADY. 10:23:54 THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLEMAN FROM CALIFORNIA, 10:23:58 MR. McNERNEY. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 10:24:03 FOR TODAY'S HEARING, I WANT TO WELCOME THE PANELISTS HERE THIS 10:24:07 MORNING. THE EXPLOSION OF THE DEEPWATER 10:24:09 HORIZON AND RESULTING OIL GUSH IS A TRAGEDY WITH TERRIBLE HUMAN 10:24:15 CONSEQUENCES. OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE 10:24:16 WITH THE FAMILIES OF THE VICTIMS AND THE HARD-WORKING AMERICANS 10:24:22 WHO WHOSE WAYS OF LIVES ARE THREATENED. 10:24:24 AMERICANS ARE SHOCKED AND SADDENED BY WHAT OCCURRED BUT 10:24:27 THEY'RE OUTRAGED IS BECAUSE THERE IS NO REAL PLAN TO RESPOND 10:24:31 TO A CRISIS OF THIS MAGNITUDE. THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WAS SUPPOSED 10:24:35 TO FAIL-SAFE FAILED BADLY. HOW COULD COMPANIES LIKE BP HAVE 10:24:41 INVESTED SO MANY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THIS TECHNOLOGY FOR DEEP 10:24:44 WATER DRILLING BUT FAILED TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE TECHNOLOGIES 10:24:47 TO PREVENT THIS KIND OF GUSH? I WANT TO KNOW TODAY WHAT STEPS 10:24:52 THE INDUSTRY IS TAKING TO ENSURE THAT THE TECHNOLOGIES DESIGNED 10:24:56 TO BE FAILSAFE WORK AS PROMISED AND WHAT INVESTMENTS THE 10:25:00 INDUSTRY IS MAKING IN TECHNOLOGIES THAT WOULD ALLOW 10:25:03 FOR A FAR MORE EFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO THE DISASTER. 10:25:08 HOWEVER, THE REAL SOLUTION IS TO DELIBERATELY REDUCE OUR 10:25:13 CONSUMPTION OF PETROLEUM FUELS SO THE DEMAND FOR OIL IS 10:25:17 TECHNICALLY MANAGEABLE. I BELIEVE THAT THIS CAN BE DONE 10:25:20 IN A WAY THAT IMPROVES OUR NATIONAL ECONOMY AND I WANT TO 10:25:24 KNOW WHAT THE EXECUTIVES SITTING HERE IN FRONT OF ME TODAY ARE 10:25:28 GOING TO DO TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL. 10:25:30 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, AND I YIELD BACK. 10:25:32 WE THANK THE GENTLEMAN. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE 10:25:35 GENTLEMAN FROM FLORIDA, MR. STEARNS. 10:25:38 GOOD MORNING AN THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN AND THANK YOU FOR 10:25:40 HAVING THIS HEARING TOGETHER WITH THE RANKING MEMBER UPTON. 10:25:44 THE TITLE OF THE HEARING IS DRILLING DOWN ON AMERICA'S 10:25:47 ENERGY FUTURE SAFETY SECURITY AND CLEAN ENERGY. 10:25:50 I'M NOT SURE THE TITLE REALLY IS APPROPRIATE AS WELL AS LISTENING 10:25:56 TO SOME OF THESE OPENING STATEMENTS. 10:25:58 THE BOTTOM LINE IS ALL OF US ARE FRUSTRATED HERE AND CONGRESS, AS 10:26:02 WELL AS OBVIOUSLY THE GULF COAST RESIDENTS. 10:26:05 WE DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY BP DIDN'T ACT MORE QUICKLY. 10:26:10 I ASK CEO LAMAR McKAY THE QUESTION IS HOW MANY BARRELS ARE 10:26:14 MANY COULD GO OUT PER DAY. HE SAID 5,000 THEN I READ TO HIM 10:26:17 FROM HIS OWN REPORT THAT HE COULD HANDLE UP TO 300,000 10:26:21 BARRELS A DAY TEN MILES OFF THE SHORE SO THE QUESTION TO HIM IS 10:26:24 WHY CAN'T YOU HANDLE 5,000? WELL, OBVIOUSLY THE 5,000 WASN'T 10:26:28 CORRECT AT LEAST MANY OF US DON'T THINK IT WAS CORRECT. 10:26:31 WE NOW HAVE AN OIL SPILL THAT'S SEVEN TIMES THE "EXXON VALDEZ" 10:26:36 AND YET THERE'S NO END IN SIGHT AT THIS POINT. 10:26:39 SO REALLY THE PURPOSE OF THIS HEARING IS TO ASK THESE 10:26:42 EXECUTIVES, THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE MAKING THE TOP SALARIES 10:26:46 IN THE WORLD TO GET TO THEIR SPOT THEY HAVE UNUSUAL ACUMEN, 10:26:53 FORESIGHT, ENERGY, BUSINESS AWARENESS AND OBVIOUSLY HAVE A 10:26:57 LOT OF CORPORATE POLITICAL SAVVY TO GET WHERE THEY ARE. 10:27:00 THEY WOULDN'T BE HERE TODAY, MR. CHAIRMAN. 10:27:02 SO THE QUESTION IS, CAN EACH ONE OF YOU IN YOUR HEART OF HEARTS 10:27:05 SAY TO US THAT AMERICA IS PROTECTED WITH ALL THE OIL RIGS 10:27:09 YOU HAVE OUT THERE? WE HAVE ALMOST 3,800 IN THE 10:27:12 GULF. CAN YOU TELL US TODAY THAT WE'LL 10:27:15 BE SAFE, THAT AMERICA WILL BE SAFE AND YOU HAVE BACKUP WORST 10:27:19 CASE SCENARIOS? MR. McKAY SAID HE DID BUT HE 10:27:23 DIDN'T. HE DIDN'T EVEN TELL US THE RIGHT 10:27:25 5,000 BARRELS A DAY. OBVIOUSLY IT WAS NOT THAT SO WE 10:27:27 FEED TO HEAR FROM YOU UNDER OATH THAT YOU CAN IN A WORST CASE 10:27:31 SCENARIO PROTECT AMERICA'S SHORES. 10:27:33 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. ALL RIGHT. 10:27:35 THE GENTLEMAN'S TIME HAS EXPIRED. 10:27:37 THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLEMAN FROM TEXAS, MR. GREEN. 10:27:43 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN FOR HOLDING THE HEARING AND I WANT 10:27:47 TO WELCOME OUR PANELISTS TODAY. STATES ALONG THE GULF COAST ARE 10:27:51 IN THE MIDST OF DEALING WITH THIS TRAGEDY AND MY THOUGHTS AND 10:27:54 PRAYERS GO OUT TO THE FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY THIS 10:27:58 ACCIDENT. FOR THOSE OF US WHO REPRESENT 10:27:59 ENERGY PRODUCING AREAS IT'S LIKE A LOSS IN THE FAMILY AND I THINK 10:28:03 WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT. WHILE WE ANXIOUSLY AWAIT A 10:28:07 POSITIVE OUTCOME ON EFFORTS TO CONTAIN IT WE ARE BEGINNING THE 10:28:10 PROCESS OF THOROUGHLY EVALUATING ANSWERS ON WHAT WENT WRONG AND 10:28:16 HOLD RESPONSIBLE PARTIES ACCOUNTABLE. 10:28:17 AS WE CONSIDER HOW TO APPROACH THE ISSUES LEGISLATIVE IT'S 10:28:21 CRITICAL WE ALLOW THE FACTS TO COME TO LIGHT AND ALLOW FOR 10:28:24 THOUGHTFUL DELIBERATION FOR MAKING PERMANENT 10:28:26 STATUTORY-SWEEPING CHANGES THAT WOULD END UP TAKING US FURTHER 10:28:29 FROM OUR GOALS OF SAFE, RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR 10:28:32 NATURAL RESOURCES. QUICKLY MOVING FORWARD WITH THE 10:28:35 LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS WOULD HAVE A PROFOUND EFFECT AND POSSIBLY 10:28:38 NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES FOR AMERICA'S PRODUCTION POTENTIAL 10:28:41 IS NOT THE PATH THAT CONGRESS SHOULD TAKE TO RUSH TO DO 10:28:44 ANYTHING JUST TO BE DOING SOMETHING. 10:28:47 WHILE UNDERSTANDING THERE'S PUBLIC LEARINESS THAT THE DEEP 10:28:51 WATER PRODUCTION I WANT TO NOTE THERE IS STILL A MAJORITY OF THE 10:28:54 AMERICAN PEOPLE WOULD SUPPORT OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 10:28:57 DRILLING. I ENCOURAGE ADMINISTRATION 10:28:59 QUICKLY TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT NECESSARY CHANGES IN THE SAFETY 10:29:03 AND PROCEDURAL STANDARDS FOR DEEP WATER AND SHALLOW WATER 10:29:07 DRILLING BECAUSE OF THE LOSS OF JOBS AND DOMESTIC PRODUCTION WE 10:29:10 WILL SEE IF THIS FULL SIX-MONTH DEEP WATER DRILLING MORATORIUM 10:29:15 IS LAST THING -- IT CONTINUES. THAT'S THE LAST THING OUR 10:29:19 RECOVERING ECONOMY NEEDS OR OUR NATION'S ENERGY NEEDS. 10:29:23 I IT'S ALSO ESTIMATED 120,000 JOBS COULD BE LOST AS A RESULT 10:29:26 OF THIS MORATORIUM. FINALLY I LOOK FORWARD TO 10:29:29 HEARING WHAT OUR PANEL PLANS TO DO TO RESTORE AMERICA'S PUBLIC'S 10:29:34 TRUST IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY. 10:29:35 THERE IS A GREAT RECORD IN THE GULF OF MEXICO, IT'S BEEN SAID 10:29:39 THE LAST TIME I CAN REMEMBER WAS THE WELL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO 10:29:44 WAS ACTUALLY IN THE BAY OF CAMPECHE IN 1979 SO WE HAVE A 10:29:48 GOOD RECORD. WE NEED TO FIND OUT WHY IT 10:29:51 DIDN'T WORK AND ALMOST EVERYTHING WENT WRONG WITH 10:29:54 HORIZON AND WHY IT IS WORKING IN LOTS OF OTHER WELLS THAT ARE 10:29:58 BEING DRILLED. OUR COUNTRY NEEDS A STRONG 10:30:01 STEADY DOMESTIC SUPPLY OF OIL AND GAS AND NATURAL GAS AND AS 10:30:06 WE TRANSITION TO ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SUPPLIES WE MUST NOT 10:30:10 FORGET THAT WE LEGISLATE THE RESPONSE TO THE ACCIDENT AND 10:30:12 LOOK FORWARD TO THE TESTIMONY. MR. CHAIRMAN, I YIELD BACK PIE 10:30:15 TIME. WE THANK THE GENTLEMAN. 10:30:17 WE RECOGNIZE THE GENTLEMAN FROM MR. MISSOURI, MR. BLUNT. 10:30:20 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN AND THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THIS 10:30:23 HEARING. I HAVE A PREPARED STATEMENT I'LL 10:30:25 PUT IN THE RECORD. LET ME SUMMARIZE THAT A LITTLE 10:30:27 BIT AND FIRST BY SAYING I'M GLAD TO HAVE THESE FIVE INDIVIDUALS 10:30:32 HERE WHO AS MR. BARTON SAID HAVE SO MUCH AT STAKE AND SO MUCH 10:30:36 POTENTIAL TO BE PART OF THIS SOLUTION. 10:30:38 I'M HOPEFUL WE CAN USE THIS HEARING TODAY TO UNDERSTAND 10:30:41 BETTER WHY OUR GOVERNMENT AND BRITISH PETROLEUM COULD HAVE 10:30:45 POSSIBLY BEEN SO POORLY PREPARED FOR THIS DISASTER. 10:30:49 CERTAINLY PEOPLE IN THE FISHING INDUSTRY, THE TOURISM INDUSTRY 10:30:52 WANT ANSWERS TO THIS PROBLEM AND THERE'S PLENTY OF BLAME TO GO 10:30:56 AROUND. I DON'T THINK THE ADMINISTRATION 10:30:59 OR THE GOVERNMENT AGENCY HEADS HAVE DONE EVERYTHING THEY SHOULD 10:31:02 HAVE DONE FROM BEING PREPARED TO PREVENTION TO THE RESPONSE. 10:31:08 INCREDIBLY SEVEN WEEKS AFTER THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION 10:31:11 WE'RE STILL LACKING RESOURCES AND CONTAINMENT, THE BOOMS, THE 10:31:16 SKIMMERS, THE THINGS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN READILY AVAILABLE ARE 10:31:19 STILL NOT APPARENTLY THERE IN THE WAYS WE NEED THEM TO GO. 10:31:24 WEEKS AGO I INTRODUCED AND WEEKS NOW INTRODUCED LEGISLATION THAT 10:31:27 WOULD REQUIRE READY ACCESS TO THE THINGS NECESSARY TO CONTAIN 10:31:32 A PROBLEM IF A PROBLEM DEVELOPED IN THE GULF. 10:31:35 WE'RE LEARNING MORE AND MORE EVERY DAY ABOUT THE FAILINGS OF 10:31:40 THE INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT AND THE REGULATORS LEADING UP TO THE 10:31:43 INCIDENT, HOWEVER, OUR MAIN FOCUS TODAY AND IN THE NEXT FEW 10:31:47 WEEKS NEEDS TO BE TO STOP -- DO WHAT WE CAN TO STOP THIS PROBLEM 10:31:51 AND THEN TO STUDY THE PROBLEM AND SEE IT DOESN'T OCCUR AGAIN. 10:31:56 I'M CONVINCED THAT WE CAN PROTECT BOTH OUR ENVIRONMENT AND 10:32:00 OUR ECONOIMENT AS WE CONTINUE IN OUR PURSUIT OF MORE 10:32:03 INDEPENDENCE FROM FOREIGN OIL, CONGRESS AND THE ADMINISTRATION 10:32:06 SHOULD WORK TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN PRODUCE DOMESTIC OIL AND GAS 10:32:10 IN AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND MANNER. 10:32:12 I'M AFRAID THAT THE MORATORIUM THAT THE ADMINISTRATION 10:32:15 ANNOUNCED AGAINST THE WISHES OF SECRETARY SALAZAR'S OWN 10:32:19 TECHNICAL ADVISERS WILL COST THOUSANDS OF JOBS AND ULTIMATELY 10:32:24 HARM CONSUMERS. IT'S OBVIOUS WE NEED TO HEAR 10:32:26 FROM THE PANELISTS TODAY. I'M GRATEFUL THEY'RE HERE. 10:32:30 IT'S ALSO OBVIOUS MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE WANT TO SPEAK AND 10:32:32 ARE SPEAKING AND ARE CONCERNED THAT THIS NOT HAPPEN AGAIN AND 10:32:36 WE BE BETTER PREPARED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR RESOURCES, NOT 10:32:39 BECOME THE VICTIM OF OUR RESOURCES. 10:32:41 AND I YIELD BACK. WE THANK THE GENTLEMAN. 10:32:43 THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLE LADY FROM CALIFORNIA, MISS 10:32:50 KAPPES. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE 10:32:51 TESTIMONY OF OUR WITNESSES TODAY. 10:32:54 BP'S DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL IN THE GULF IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL 10:32:58 DISASTER THAT HAS ALREADY CREATED AND TILL THREATENS 10:33:02 PROFOUND HUMAN AND ECONOMIC HARM. 10:33:04 WE ALL MUST DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO CLEAN UP THE DAMAGE 10:33:06 FROM THIS INCIDENT AND PREVENT FUTURE ONES LIKE IT. 10:33:10 THIS MORNING OUR SUBCOMMITTEE NEEDS TO HEAR FROM BP, HOW THE 10:33:13 SPILL OCCURRED AND HOW IT'S GOING TO MAKE THE PEOPLE OF THE 10:33:16 GULF WHOLE. AND MORE BROADLY WE NEED TO HEAR 10:33:19 FROM THE OIL COMPANIES IN GENERAL ABOUT HOW THEY'RE GOING 10:33:22 TO PREVENT SPILLS IN THE FUTURE. UNFORTUNATELY, WE CAN'T STOP 10:33:26 DRILLING OVERNIGHT. AND THESE COMPANIES HAVE THE 10:33:29 RESPONSIBILITY TO DO EVERYTHING IN THEIR POWER TO PREVENT FUTURE 10:33:34 TRAGEDIES. HAVING SEEN THE 1969 OIL SPILL 10:33:37 FIRSTHAND, I CAN TELL YOU THAT SPILL RESPONSE TECHNOLOGY HAS 10:33:42 HARDLY ADVANCED IN THE PAST 40 YEARS. 10:33:45 FINALLY WE NEED TO HEAR FROM EACH WITNESS AND THEIR COMPANIES 10:33:48 WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE GOING TO PLAY A CONSTRUCTIVE ROLE IN TRAN 10:33:52 SIGNIFICANTING OUR ECONOMY AWAY FROM DRILLING AND ONTO CLEAN 10:33:55 ENERGY SOURCES. THE RECORD TO DATE IS NOT 10:33:59 IMPRESSIVE. THEY NEED TO TRANSITION AWAY 10:34:00 FROM FOSSIL FUELS FOR THE SAKE OF OUR NATIONAL SECURITY, OUR 10:34:04 ECONOMY AND THE ENVIRONMENT. THIS COULD NOT BE MORE APPARENT 10:34:08 THAN IT IS TODAY. PASSING COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY AND 10:34:12 CLIMATE LEGISLATION IS JUST WHAT AMERICA NEEDS TO DO TO HELP GROW 10:34:16 OUR ECONOMY AND TO CREATE JOBS. TAXPAYERS DON'T NEED STATUS QUO 10:34:21 ENERGY POLICIES THAT SEND BILLIONS OVERSEAS TO HOSTILE 10:34:23 GOVERNMENTS. WE FEED A SAFER, A CLEANER AND A 10:34:26 MORE ECONOMICAL APPROACH TO ENERGY DEVELOPMENT. 10:34:28 ONE THAT SHIFTS US AWAY FROM OIL EVENTUALLY AND TOWARD RENEWABLE 10:34:33 SOURCES THAT CAN'T DESTROY OUR COASTLINES. 10:34:36 EVERY DAY WE DELAY OUR ECONOMY GROWS WEAKER. 10:34:39 OUR ENEMIES GROW STRONGER. AND THE PLANET BECOMES MORE 10:34:43 POLLUTED. IT'S TIME FOR REAL SOLUTIONS 10:34:45 THAT PROTECT RATHER THAN ENDANGER OUR COASTAL 10:34:48 COMMUNITIES, OUR LIVELIHOODS, OUR WAY OF LIFE. 10:34:51 I HOPE WE CAN ENACT BIPARTISAN CLIMB AND ENERGY LEGISLATION 10:34:54 THIS YEAR, MR. CHAIRMAN. I PLEDGE TO WORK WITH YOU TO 10:34:58 ACHIEVE THIS VERY IMPORTANT GOAL AND I YIELD BACK. 10:35:00 GREAT. THE GENTLE LADY'S TIME EXPIRED. 10:35:04 THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLEMAN FROM PENNSYLVANIA, 10:35:09 MR. PITTS. THANK YOU FOR HOLING THIS 10:35:12 HEARING. THE BP OIL SPILL IS A TRAGIC 10:35:14 EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 10:35:17 NOT ONLY HAVE LIVES BEEN LOST, BUT AN UNKNOWN AMOUNT OF OIL HAS 10:35:22 BEEN LEAKED INTO THE OCEAN CAUSING HORRIBLE EFFECTS. 10:35:25 SOME OF WHICH WE KNOW NOW, SOME OF WHICH WILL TAKE YEARS TO 10:35:30 DISCOVER. FIRST AND FOREMOST, THE LEAKAGE 10:35:32 OF OIL MUST BE STOPPED. I THINK WE ALL KNOW THIS, BUT IT 10:35:35 BEARS REPEATING AND I HOPE OUR WITNESSES WILL TELL US WHAT THEY 10:35:39 THINK MUST BE DONE TO STOP THE LEAK. 10:35:42 ONCE THIS IS DONE, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE THOROUGHLY 10:35:45 UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED ABOARD DEEPWATER HORIZON BEFORE, DURING 10:35:50 AND AFTER THE EXPLOSION. WE MUST KNOW WHAT CAUSED THIS 10:35:53 HORRIFIC EVENT SO THAT IT NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. 10:35:56 IN THE WAKE OF THIS EVENT, QUESTIONS HAVE NOT ONLY ARISEN 10:36:00 REGARDING THE CAUSE OF THE EXPLOSION AND THE LEAK BUT ALSO 10:36:04 REGARDING THE APPROPRIATENESS OF RESPONSE FROM BP AND THE 10:36:09 ADMINISTRATION. I FIND IT UNFATHOMABLE THAT THE 10:36:12 PRESIDENT IS JUST NOW MEETING WITH TOP BP EXECUTIVES. 10:36:15 IN ADDITION, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE ENTIRE FEDERAL RESPONSE HAS 10:36:19 BEEN NOT ONLY DISJOINTED, BUT CONFUSING AND FRUSTRATING FOR 10:36:24 THOSE ON THE GROUND TRYING TO BRING RELIEF. 10:36:27 THE MORATORIUM ANNOUNCED LAST WEEK IS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF 10:36:30 POOR JUDGMENT WITHOUT REGARD TO THE ECONOMIC LIVELIHOOD OF THE 10:36:35 GULF COAST REGION AND MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WHO BUY GAS EVERY 10:36:37 DAY FOR THEIR VEHICLES. AS I'VE SAID, THIS IS A TRAGIC 10:36:42 EVENT. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE DUE 10:36:44 DILIGENCE IS DONE IN INVESTIGATING THE CAUSES AND THE 10:36:46 APPROPRIATENESS OF RESPONSE IN THE AFTERMATH. 10:36:49 HOWEVER, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THE RESPONSE OF THIS BODY AND 10:36:53 THE ADMINISTRATION IS PRUDENT, ONE THAT STILL ENCOURAGES OUR 10:36:57 COUNTRY'S ENERGY SECURITY AND INDEPENDENCE. 10:36:59 I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM OUR WITNESSES TODAY AND I NIELD 10:37:02 BACK. GREAT. 10:37:03 >THE GENTLEMAN'S TIME HAS EXPIRED. 10:37:05 WE RECOGNIZE THE GENTLE LADY FROM CALIFORNIA, HIS HARMAN. 10:37:10 WELCOME TO OUR WITNESSES. I HAVE LONG ARGUED AND SO HAVE 10:37:14 OTHERS THAT WE MUST MOVE AWAY FROM DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL. 10:37:18 WE KNOW THE NATIONAL SECURITY PITFALLS OF THAT DEPENDENCE. 10:37:23 WE SEE THAT PLAYED OUT EVERY SINGLE DAY IN WHAT'S GOING ON IN 10:37:27 THE MIDDLE EAST, BUT WE ALSO NOW CLEARLY SEE THAT THERE ARE 10:37:30 ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC PITFALLS WITH OUR ONGOING 10:37:34 DEPENDENCE ON DOMESTIC OIL. MANY OF THE CALIFORNIANS ON THIS 10:37:37 PANEL INCLUDING ME STAUNCHLY OPPOSE DRILLING OFFSHORE 10:37:42 CALIFORNIA AND I WANT TO APPLAUD OUR PRESIDENT FOR MAKING CLEAR 10:37:46 THAT THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN. BUT IT IS ALSO CLEAR AS OUR 10:37:51 WITNESSES KNOW THAT CALIFORNIA HAS AN ADDICTION TO ONE DRIVER 10:37:55 PER CAR AND THAT, THEREFORE ARE MANY REFINERIES LOCATED 10:38:01 THROUGHOUT THE STATE FOUR OR FIVE IN MY DISTRICT ALONE, EL 10:38:05 SEGUNDO, FOR EXAMPLE, IS NAMED FOR THE SECOND CHEVRON REFINERY 10:38:09 IN THE STATE AND SO ALL OF YOU SITTING HERE LOOKING AT US ARE 10:38:12 SAYING, WELL, HEY, IF YOU'RE NOT FIXING THIS PROBLEM, WHY ARE YOU 10:38:16 BLAMING IT ALL ON US? I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THE 10:38:19 OBVIOUS THAT SOME OTHER MEMBERS HAVE ALSO ADDRESSED, WHICH IS 10:38:24 THAT ALL THE COMPANIES BEFORE US HAVE IN 2009 YEARLY PROFITS 10:38:29 AMOUNTING TO MORE THAN $64 BILLION. 10:38:34 YOU PAID $37 BILLION IN DIVIDENDS TO YOUR SHAREHOLDERS. 10:38:37 YOU INVESTED MORE THAN $9.5 BILLION IN EXPLORATION, BUT YOU 10:38:42 INVESTED FAR LESS IN RENEWABLE AND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY. 10:38:46 YOU ARE ENERGY COMPANIES AND SO MY URGING WOULD BE WHY NOT 10:38:51 INVEST IN ENERGY PRODUCTS AND ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE FAR 10:38:55 SAFER THAT WILL WEAN US FROM OUR DEPENDENCE ON OIL AND KEEP YOUR 10:39:00 PROFIT LEVEL UP FOR YOUR SHAREHOLDERS BUT THAT OBVIOUSLY 10:39:03 WILL MAKE AMERICA SAFER AND FINALLY LET ME MENTION OUR 10:39:06 CONSTITUENTS ARE VERY SMART. ONE OF THEM APPROACHED ME THE 10:39:09 OTHER DAY AND SAID, "WHY DON'T WE REQUIRE ENERGY COMPANIES THAT 10:39:13 ARE DRILLING ESPECIALLY DEEP WELLS TO DRILL A RELIEF WELL 10:39:17 ALONGSIDE THE ORIGINAL WELL. IF IT WAS DRILLED AT THE SAME 10:39:20 TIME IT WOULD BE THERE IF A CATASTROPHE HAPPENED." 10:39:23 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. WE THANK THE GENTLE LADY. 10:39:26 THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLEMAN FROM LOUISIANA, 10:39:29 MR. SCALISE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 10:39:32 I SPENT LAST FRIDAY ON GRAND ISLE ASSESSING THE DAMAGE AND 10:39:36 TALKING TO LOCAL LEADERS WHO SAY THEY ARE STILL SPENDING MORE 10:39:38 TIME FIGHTING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND BP THAN THEY ARE 10:39:41 FIGHTING THE OIL. THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE. 10:39:44 YET INDICATIVE OF A SERIOUS LACK OF LEADERSHIP AND COORDINATION 10:39:47 COMING FROM BP AND THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. 10:39:51 FIRST AND FOREPOSE OUR FOCUS, BP'S FOCUS AND THE PRESIDENT'S 10:39:54 FOCUS NEEDS TO BE ON PLUGGING THE WELL AND USING EVERY 10:39:57 RESOURCE AVAILABLE TO PROTECT OUR FRAGILE MARSH AND SEAFOOD 10:40:03 BEDS. BP IS THE RESPONSIBLE PARTY AND 10:40:05 NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE AND I INTEND TO DO EVERYTHING IN NYE 10:40:08 POWER TO MAKE SURE THEY PAY FOR THE FULL COST OF THIS DISASTER. 10:40:10 BUT IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE INADEQUATE FEDERAL RESPONSE, WE 10:40:13 NEED A CLEAR CHAIN OF COMMAND THAT HOLDS PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE. 10:40:16 THE OIL POLLUTION ACT OF 1990 STATES THE PRESIDENT SHALL 10:40:20 ENSURE EFFECTIVE AND IMMEDIATE REMOVAL OF A DISCHARGE. 10:40:23 ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS THE PRESIDENT HAS SAID THAT FROM DAY 10:40:25 ONE HE'S BEEN OTT GROUND AND IN CHARGE BUT IF THAT'S THE CASE, 10:40:28 WHERE WAS THE PRESIDENT WHEN STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS WAITED 10:40:31 NEARLY A MONTH FOR APPROVAL ON A PLAN TO CONSTRUCT SAND BERMS TO 10:40:34 PROTECT OUR VALUABLE MARSH AND PREVENT AT LEAST A DOZEN 10:40:38 PELICANS FROM DYING? AND WHY DO BOATS CONTINUE TO SIT 10:40:40 IDLE AT THE DOCKS WHEN FISHERMEN CONSTANTLY HAVING TO SEEK BP'S 10:40:44 APPROVAL TO GET BOOM OR CLEAN UP OUR BEACHES? 10:40:46 THE DELAY OF THE BERM PLAN IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF THE INCOMPETENT 10:40:50 RESPONSE TO THIS DISASTER. WHILE THE ADMINISTRATION DRAGS 10:40:52 THEIR FEET IN WASHINGTON, MILLIONS OF BARRELS OF OIL 10:40:55 INVADE OUR WETLANDS KILLING SCORES OF WILDLIFE AND 10:40:57 DEVASTATING LOUISIANA'S FISHERIES. 10:40:59 QUICK ACTION AND LEADERSHIP COULD HAVE EFFECTIVELY LIMITED 10:41:01 THE SCOPE OF THIS DISASTER. INSTEAD, THE PRESIDENT RESPONDED 10:41:04 BY MAKING EXCUSES AND SHIFTING BLAME. 10:41:07 FRANKLY, I AND PEOPLE THROUGHOUT LOUISIANA HAVE HAD ENOUGH AND 10:41:10 ARE SICK AND TIRED OF THE EXCUSES WE CONTINUE TO BE GIVEN 10:41:13 BY THE PRESIDENT AND BP. INSTEAD OF LEADING LIKE THE 10:41:16 COMMANDER IN CHIEF, THE PRESIDENT CONTINUES TO AGO LIKE 10:41:18 A SPECTATOR IN THE STANDS. TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY, THE 10:41:21 PRESIDENT'S NOW IMPOSED A SIX-MONTH BAN ON DEEP WATER 10:41:25 DRILLING. MAKE NO MISTAKE IMPLEMENTING 10:41:27 THIS IS LIKE TAKING A JACK HAMMER TO THE BEDROCK OF THE 10:41:30 LOUISIANA ECONOMY. THIS DEVASTATING BAN WILL COST 10:41:32 MY STATE ALONE AT LEAST 40,000 JOBS AND WILL LEAVE OUR NATION 10:41:35 MORE DEPENDENT ON MIDDLE EASTERN OIL COUNTRIES THAT DON'T LIKE 10:41:39 US. WE MUST FIGURE OUT WHAT WENT 10:41:40 WRONG TO PREVENT THIS TYPE OF DISASTER FROM HAPPENING AGAIN IN 10:41:43 THE FUTURE BUT THE PRESIDENT IS NOW EXPLOITING OUR DISASTER AS A 10:41:46 POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY TO ADVANCE HIS RADICAL AGENDA THAT WILL 10:41:50 KILL MORE AMERICAN JOBS. WE NEED ANSWERS AND WE NEED 10:41:52 LEADERSHIP BY THE PRESIDENT, UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAVE NEITHER 10:41:55 AND LOUISIANA'S PEOPLE AND WILDLIFE ARE PAYING THE PRICE. 10:41:57 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN AND I YIELD BACK. 10:42:00 GREAT. THE GENTLEMAN'S TIME HAS 10:42:02 EXPIRED. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLE 10:42:05 LADY FROM WISCONSIN, MISS BALDWIN. 10:42:07 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN AND THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THIS 10:42:10 HEARING TODAY AND CALLING THIS PANEL OF WITNESSES BEFORE US. 10:42:14 THE CATASTROPHE IN THE GULF HAS SHED NEW LIGHT ON THE OPERATIONS 10:42:17 OF THE OIL INDUSTRY. THE SAFETY AND SECURITY MEASURES 10:42:21 THAT THEY HAVE IN PLACE, THE DISASTER PLANS THEY MAINTAIN AND 10:42:24 THEIR EFFORTS TO MOVE US AWAY FROM OUR DEPENDENCE UPON OIL AND 10:42:29 TOWARDS DEVELOPING AND PROMOTING THE USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY 10:42:32 SOURCES. AS HAS BEEN NOTED, THE COMPANIES 10:42:35 REPRESENTED BEFORE US TODAY HAVE PRODUCED RECORD PROFITS IN 10:42:38 RECENT YEARS. LAST YEAR'S AGGREGATE PROFITS 10:42:41 FOR THE FIVE COMPANIES REPRESENTED HERE TODAY AMOUNT TO 10:42:46 $64 BILLION. UNFORTUNATELY, WHAT APPEARS TO 10:42:50 BE MISSING AMONGST THE DOLLAR SIGNS IS CORPORATE 10:42:54 RESPONSIBILITY. AN OBLIGATION TO OPERATE IN AN 10:42:57 E ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIALLY 10:42:59 RESPONSIBLE MANNER TO PROVIDE SAFE WORKING ENVIRONMENTS, TO BE 10:43:02 GOOD NEIGHBORS AND TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS. 10:43:06 GENERALLY COMPANIES CLAIM THAT STEWARDSHIP IS PART OF THEIR 10:43:10 PHILOSOPHY. I THINK EACH OF THE COMPANIES 10:43:13 REPRESENTED HERE TODAY HAVE MADE THAT REPRESENTATION. 10:43:16 YET, WHAT WE ARE BEGINNING TO FIND AS THIS COMMITTEE AND ITS 10:43:19 OTHER SUBCOMMITTEES INVESTIGATE THIS DISASTER IS THAT RATHER 10:43:23 THAN CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY, WE MAY HAVE BEFORE US A CULTURE 10:43:26 OF CORPORATE IRRESPONSIBILITY. WE KNOW THAT THE RESULTS OF 10:43:31 LETTING COMPANIES OPERATE UNDER WEAK REGULATION, THEY BEGIN TO 10:43:36 BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE ABOVE THE LAW, THEY IGNORE WARNING SIGNS, 10:43:40 THEY SHORTCUT PROPER PROCEDURES. THEY FAIL TO PROPERLY PAN FOR A 10:43:44 DISASTER AND THEY PUT PROFITS ABOVE ALL ELSE. 10:43:47 YOU KNOW, A LOT OF WHAT I'M OBSERVING IN THIS SECTOR COULD 10:43:51 JUST AS WELL HAVE BEEN SAID ABOUT WHAT WE SAW ON WALL STREET 10:43:54 WITH THE FINANCIAL COLLAPSE IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. 10:43:58 MR. CHAIRMAN, GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY ALL HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY 10:44:02 IN PREVENTING FUTURE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC 10:44:06 DISASTERS AND AS LAWMAKERS, WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO OUR 10:44:10 CONSTITUENTS, OUR NATION, TO THOSE WHO HAVE LOST JOBS, 10:44:13 PENSIONS AND HEALTH CARE, THOSE WHO HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES TO PUT 10:44:16 AN END TO THIS RECKLESSNESS AND TO HOLD BAD ARCS ACCOUNTABLE. 10:44:19 I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM OUR WITNESSES ABOUT THE ROLES 10:44:23 THEY SEE THEIR COMPANIES AND THE GOVERNMENT PLAYING IN ENSURING 10:44:26 FUTURE DISASTERS ARE PREVENTED. I YIELD BACK THE BALANCE OF PIE 10:44:30 TIME. WE THANK THE GENTLE LADY. 10:44:32 THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLEMAN FROM ARKANSAS, 10:44:36 MR. ROSS. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, FOR 10:44:44 HOLDING TODAY'S HEARING TO DISCUSS THE SAFETY AND SECURITY 10:44:48 OF CURRENT OFFSHORE DRILLING PRACTICES AND THE FUTURE OF 10:44:52 ENERGY PRODUCTION IN OUR NATION. IN THE WAKE OF THE WORST OIL 10:44:57 SPILL IN OUR NATION'S HISTORY, WE MUST NOW LEARN FROM THIS 10:45:01 DISASTER AND RE-EVALUATE OUR OPERATING METHODS AND EXAMINE 10:45:04 HOW OIL WILL BE A PART OF AMERICA'S FUTURE ENERGY POLICY. 10:45:09 AS OIL PRICES AND OIL COMPANY PROFITS HAVE INCREASED 10:45:13 DRAMATICALLY OVER THE LAST DECADE, SO HAS OUR NATION'S 10:45:17 DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL WITH THE U.S. IMPORTING APPROXIMATELY 10:45:22 52% OF THE OIL IT CONSUMED LAST YEAR. 10:45:25 WHILE I BELIEVE THAT OUR POLICIES MUST BE BROAD ENOUGH TO 10:45:28 CREATE ENERGY FROM A VARIETY OF DOMESTIC SOURCES INCLUDING 10:45:33 DOMESTIC OIL AND NATURAL GAS, I ALSO RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF 10:45:36 THOUGHTFUL INVESTMENTS IN BIOFUELS, NUCLEAR, HYDRO POWER, 10:45:40 WIND, SOLAR AND CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY. 10:45:44 ON DAY 57 OF THIS DISASTER WITH NO END IN SIGHT, I AM HOPEFUL 10:45:49 THAT THE FIVE COMPANIES TESTIFYING TODAY CAN INFORM US 10:45:53 OF WHAT WENT WRONG, HOW THIS TRAGEDY COULD HAVE BEEN 10:45:57 PREVENTED AND HOW THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CAN HAVE ASSURANCE THAT 10:46:02 THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. I BELIEVE THE ADMINISTRATION AND 10:46:07 OUR GOVERNMENT MUST DO MORE TO HOLD THESE COMPANIES ACCOUNTABLE 10:46:11 FOR THEIR DRILLING PRACTICES AND ENSURE THE MOST ADVANCED 10:46:15 TECHNOLOGIES AND SAFETY PROCEDURES ARE IN PLACE. 10:46:19 ONCE AGAIN, MR. CHAIRMAN, THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THIS HEARING AND 10:46:22 I LOOK FORWARD TO TODAY'S DISCUSSION. 10:46:24 GREAT. WE THANK THE GENTLEMAN. 10:46:26 THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLEMAN FROM VERMONT, 10:46:29 MR. WELSH. IT'S ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS 10:46:34 THAT WE ARE HERE TODAY. WHAT HAPPENED IN THE GULF WAS 10:46:38 SOMETHING THAT BP ASSURED US WOULD NEVER EVER HAPPEN, THAT IT 10:46:42 DID HAPPEN, IN FACT, WAS FORESEEABLE AND INEVITABLE AND 10:46:45 WHY WAS THAT? BECAUSE AT EVERY TURN, RECKLESS 10:46:49 DISREGARD OF SAFETY PROCEDURES, CORNER-CUTTING AND DECISIONS 10:46:52 THAT WERE MADE FOR MONEY, NOT SAFETY. 10:46:56 MR. CHAIRMAN, I WANT TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE 10:46:59 CURRENT CRISIS. AS BP DEBATES WHETHER TO ISSUE A 10:47:02 SECOND QUARTER DIVIDEND ON THEIR ANNUAL $10 BILLION DIVIDEND, WE 10:47:07 HAVE PEOPLE IN THE GULF COAST WHO NEED COMPENSATION. 10:47:12 RESPONSIBLE COMPANIES PAY THEIR OBLIGATIONS THEN THEY PAY 10:47:16 DIVIDENDS. MANY IN CONGRESS HAVE JOINED ME 10:47:19 IN MY CALL ON BP TO DIRECT DIVIDEND FUNDS TO AN ESCROW 10:47:24 ACCOUNT TO BE AVAILABLE TO DEAL WITH THE HEARTACHE AND THE 10:47:27 DESTRUCTION OF LIVELIHOODS IN THE GULF COAST. 10:47:30 BP HAS AFFIRMED ITS INTENTION TO MAKE GOOD ON ITS OBLIGATIONS. 10:47:36 NOW WE ASK THAT BP TAKE FINANCIAL STEPS CONSISTENT WITH 10:47:40 ITS ASSURANCES. PRESIDENT OBAMA AND 54 MEMBERS 10:47:44 OF THE U.S. STAT HAVE CALLED ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN 10:47:47 INDEPENDENTLY ADMINISTERED $20 BILLION ESCROW FUND. 10:47:51 THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO COVER CLEANUP COSTS. 10:47:54 MR. McKAY, I FURTHER CALL ON BP TO DEPOSIT DIVIDEND FUNDS INTO 10:48:00 THIS ESCROW ACCOUNT SO THAT THE CITIZENS OF THE GULF AND THE 10:48:04 TAXPAYERS OF THIS COUNTRY CAN BE ASSURED THAT YOUR COMPANY WILL 10:48:07 MEET ITS OBL GATHS. I YIELD BACK THE BALANCE OF MY 10:48:09 TIME. WE THANK THE GENTLEMAN, THE 10:48:14 CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLEMAN FROM UTAH, MR. MATH THINKSON. 10:48:20 ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 10:48:23 FOR HOLDING THIS HEARING. I KNOW THE -- YOUR TESTIMONY 10:48:27 HIGHLIGHTS THE WAY IN WHICH YOUR COMPANY DOES BUSINESS AND HOW -- 10:48:32 ALSO WE'LL HEAR FROM BP HOW IT CONDUCTED ITSELF IN THE EVENTS 10:48:36 LEADING UP TO THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION. 10:48:39 YOU EACH WILL DISCUSS YOUR SAFETY RECORD AND LESSONS 10:48:42 LEARNED FROM PAST DISASTERS. I THINK IT'S FAIR TO SAY NONE OF 10:48:45 YOUR COMPANIES ARE IMMUNE FROM CRITICISM AND ACCIDENTS CAN 10:48:48 STRIKE ANY PLACE ANY TIME DESPITE THE SAFETY MEASURES YOU 10:48:51 WILL BE TOUTING TODAY. AS MENTIONED FRIDAY NIGHT THE 10:48:55 CHEVRON PIPELINE BEGAN LEAKING IN SALT LAKE CITY AND 10:48:58 BEFORE BEING SHUT OFF LEAKED SOMEWHERE AROUND 33,000 GALLONS 10:49:03 OFOIL IN NORTHERN SALT LAKE CITY WHICH LEADS INTO THE JORDAN 10:49:06 RIVER WHICH EMPTIES INTO THE GREAT SALT LAKE. 10:49:09 THE DATE SALT LAKE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ESTUARIES FOR 10:49:13 MIGRATING BIRDS IN THE WEST. FORTUNATELY CURRENT INFORMATION 10:49:15 INDICATES THAT OIL HAS NOT HIT THE GREAT SALT LAKE AND FURTHER 10:49:18 IT'S FORTUNATE THAT THE DRINKING WATER SUPPLY IS PROTECTED BY 10:49:21 MOST ACCOUNTS THE OIL HAS BEEN CON TAPED. 10:49:24 NOW, 33,000 GALLONS IS A PITTANCE WHEN COMPARED TO THE 10:49:31 IMPACT ON MY CITY'S ECONOMY WILL NOT BE ANYWHERE NEAR WHAT IT IS 10:49:34 FOR THE GULF COAST RESIDENTS. IT FURTHER HIGHLIGHTS THE 10:49:38 IMPORTANT OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT OF OUR ENERGY 10:49:40 INFRASTRUCTURE. THIS PARTICULAR CHEVRON PIPELINE 10:49:44 WAS LAST INSPECTED IN 2008. WE NEED TO FIND OUT WHAT THE 10:49:47 RESULTS WERE OF THAT INSPECTION AND IF ANYTHING IN THAT 10:49:51 INSPECTION GAVE ANY INDICATION OF THE POTENTIAL OF THIS PROBLEM 10:49:53 THAT OCCURRED THIS PAST WEEKEND. RIGHT NOW THE PURPORTED CAUSE OF 10:49:58 THE SPILL IS A BRANCH FELL DURING A HEAVY WINDSTORM AND 10:50:01 CREATED AN ELECTRIC ARC WHICH DROVE A FENCE TO THE JUST INCHEM 10:50:07 THE PIPELINE. IT RAISES QUESTIONS, WHY WAS THE 10:50:10 FENCE POST WITHIN INCHES OF THE PIPELINE. 10:50:12 WHEN THE ELECTRICITY ARCED THROUGH THE FENCE POST, IT 10:50:15 BURNED A HOLE THROUGH THE PIPELINE. 10:50:17 THAT IS THE LATEST EXPLANATION FOR WHAT HAPPENED. 10:50:19 WE NEED ANSWERS TO THAT THE LAST THING WE NEED ANSWERS TO IS 10:50:22 APPARENTLY THE MONITORING EQUIPMENT ON THE PIPELINE FAILED 10:50:25 TO INDICATE THERE WAS A LEAK AND THE FIRST TIME CHEVRON WAS AWARE 10:50:29 OF THE LEAK IS WHETHER THE SALT LAKE CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT CALLED 10:50:31 THEM THE NEXT DAY. SO NUMBER ONE, WHAT WAS THE 10:50:33 RESULT OF THE INSPECTION OF 2008. 10:50:35 MUST BE TWO, WHY WAS A FENCE POST DRILLED WITH INCHES OF 10:50:38 PIPELINE. NUMBER THREE, WHY DID THE 10:50:41 MONITORING EQUIPMENT FAIL IN TERMS OF WHY THE LEAK HAPPENED? 10:50:43 I'M PLANNING OP WORKING WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, 10:50:47 THE EPA, LOOKING AT THESE ISSUES TO FIND OUT WHY THIS HAND LASTLY 10:50:51 HOW WE DEFINE WHAT CLEAN IS IN TERMS OF THE CLEANUP. 10:50:54 I WILL ACKNOWLEDGE CHEVRON HAS TAKEN RESPONSIBILITY AND WILL 10:50:58 PAY FOR THE CLEANUP IN SALT LAKE. 10:50:59 I APPRECIATE THAT AGGRESSIVE POSITION THEY'VE TAKEN TO REACH 10:51:02 OUT TO THE RESIDENTS OF SALT LAKE CITY. 10:51:05 MR. CHAIRMAN, I'M GLAD YOU BEAR WITH ME, I THOUGHT THIS INCIDENT 10:51:08 OF THE PAST WEEKEND WAS WORTH MENTIONING IN THIS HEARING TO 10:51:12 SHOW THAT ISSUES CAN TOUCH ANYWHERE ALONG THE SUPPLY CHAIN. 10:51:14 IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE NEED THAT IN MIND, I YIELD BACK. 10:51:19 WE THANK THE GENTLEMAN. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE 10:51:26 GENTLEMAN FROM NORTH CAROLINA, MR. BUTTERFIELD. 10:51:28 THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. CHAIRMAN. 10:51:30 WE'RE ALL SAYING THE SAME THING, HOW IS HAVE DONE MORE TO PREVENT 10:51:33 THIS UNTHINKABLE DISASTER. EVEN THOUGH SOME SAY SUGGEST 10:51:38 THAT MY HOME STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA IS NOT IN HARM'S WAY, 10:51:42 THE FACT IS WE MAY BE. WE ARE NOT ONLY ANGRY ABOUT THIS 10:51:46 BILL BUT WE ARE SCARED TO DEATH THAT OUR COASTAL AREA WILL BE 10:51:50 AFFECTED. OVER THE PAST 30 YEAR, THE OIL 10:51:52 INDUSTRY HAS USED SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST ADVANCED 10:51:56 TECHNOLOGIES TO DRILL IN DEEPER WATERS. 10:52:00 THE BROAD INGENUITY THAT ALLOWED THEM TO DRILL MILES UNDER THE 10:52:04 OCEAN'S FLOOR HAS OUTPACED COMMITMENT TO SAFETY AND THAT IS 10:52:08 UNACCEPTABLE. BP IGNORED A VERY SIMPLE RULE. 10:52:10 IF YOU CAN'T PLUG THE HOLE DON'T DRILL THE WELL. 10:52:14 WHAT CONCERNS ME, MR. CHAIRMAN SRNGS WHETHER BP'S MISTAKES ARE 10:52:18 UNIQUE TO THEM OR ARE INDICATIVE OF INDUSTRY-WIDE PRACTICES. 10:52:23 REGARDLESS, WE MUST NOW ENSURE THAT ADEQUATE SAFETY PRACTICES 10:52:26 AND CLEANUP PLANS ARE FIRMLY IN PLACE. 10:52:29 IT WAS ASSUMED THAT THE THIS TYPE OF DISASTER WOULD NEVER 10:52:33 HAPPEN BUT IT DID. I HOPE THIS TRAGIC EVENT 10:52:35 ILLUSTRATES THE NEED FOR ACTION. MANY OF US ON THIS SIDE OF THE 10:52:39 AISLE HAVE ADVOCATED A FUNDAMENTAL OVERHAUL TO OUR 10:52:43 ENERGY STRESSING A BROAD PORTFOLIO OF ENERGY SOURCES AND 10:52:47 ENERGY FISH SICHLT THIS OVERHAUL CAN BE MARKET DRIF FN WE APPLY A 10:52:51 REAL COST TO CARBON AND ITS EFFECTS ON OUR ECONOMY, OUR 10:52:55 QUALITY OF LIFE AND OUR ENVIRONMENT. 10:52:58 THIS DISASTER DEMONSTRATES THAT WE CANNOT DELAY ENACTING 10:53:02 COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION TO DIMINISH 10:53:05 OUR DEPENDENCE ON OIL BOTH FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC. 10:53:10 TODAY'S HEARING WILL PROVIDE UNAM BIGGOUS ANSWERS, I HOPE, ON 10:53:15 WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE DAYS, WEEKS AND YEARS TO COME. 10:53:18 FOR MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO FACE THIS NIGHTMARE, WE MUST DEMAND 10:53:24 TRANSPARENCY AND A CLEAR ASSESSMENT OF THE FUTURE. 10:53:27 I THANK THE WITNESSES FOR BEING WITH US TODAY AND LET ME JOIN MY 10:53:32 GOOD MR. MR. WELCH IN REQUESTING BP TO CONSENT TO AN ESCROW FUND 10:53:37 TO PROVIDE A MODEST REMEDY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN HARMED. 10:53:42 I SAY TO THE WITNESSES TODAY, PUT IT ON THE TABLE. 10:53:44 WE MUST KNOW IT OFF. THANK YOU, I YIELD BACK. 10:53:46 WE THANK THE GENTLEMAN. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE 10:53:51 GENTLEMAN FROM TEXAS, MR. GONZALES. 10:53:54 THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. CHAIRMAN. 10:53:56 I'LL BE VERY BRECHLT I USUALLY DON'T MAKE OPENING STATEMENTS 10:53:58 BUT I THINK I CAN READ THE MINDS OF THE WITNESSES, THEY'RE SAYING 10:54:03 ALL THESE WITNESS ARE STATING THE OBVIOUS IN THE POLITICAL AND 10:54:06 YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT AND WHEN WE GET INTO THE QUESTIONING, IT 10:54:10 WILL BE A WHOLE DIFFERENT WORLD. AS FAR AS THE POLITICAL, TO BE 10:54:12 HONEST WITH YOU, ALL THOSE WHO ARE CLAIMING THE PRESIDENT FOR 10:54:16 NOT PETING WITH THE BP CEO IMMEDIATELY. 10:54:20 HAD THE PRESIDENT DONE THAT, TODAY'S STATEMENT WOULD BE WHAT 10:54:26 WAS THE PRESIDENT WITHOUT FIRST VISITING THE AREAS AND MEETING 10:54:29 WITH THE COAST GUARD AND FIRST SPOERNSD. 10:54:31 THAT'S WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED. WHAT I'M HOPING WE'RE GOING TO 10:54:35 ACHIEVE TODAY IS TO HEAR FROM THESE WITNESS, WHAT ARE THE 10:54:38 ENERGY NEEDS OF AMERICA? HOW ARE TRANSPORTATION FUELS 10:54:41 OBVIOUSLY BASED ON OIL? AND WHAT WE'RE GOING DO TO 10:54:45 MOVING FORWARD. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DEEP AND 10:54:48 SHALLOW WATER EXPLORATION AND DRILLING AND HOW WE MEET THE 10:54:51 NEED NEEDS OF OUR PUBLIC, OUR CONSTITUENTS, STENSON OF THIS 10:54:56 COUNTRY AND THE FACTS THAT MEETING THOSE NEEDS IN THE 10:54:59 INTERIM AS WE TRANSITION TO SOMETHING DIFFERENT CAN BE DONE 10:55:04 A IN A POSSIBLE FASHION. WE CAN MEET THE NEED RESPONSIBLY 10:55:06 AND THEY'RE NOT FUTURELY EXCLUSIVE. 10:55:09 THANK YOU VERY MUCH, I YIELD BACK. 10:55:11 WE THANK THE GENTLEMAN FROM TEXAS AND THAT COMPLETES THE 10:55:16 PERIOD FOR OPENING STATEMENTS FROM ALL OF THE MEMBERS OF THE 10:55:24 SUBCOMMITTEE. THE CHAIR DOES NOT SEE ANY OTHER 10:55:28 MEMBERS. I WILL FIRST MAKES -- BEFORE WE 10:55:31 GO TO THE WITNESSES, I WILL FIRST MAKE A UNANIMOUS CONSENT 10:55:36 THAT CHAIRMAN STUPAK AND REPRESENTATIVES BLACKBURN, 10:55:42 CASTOR, WIENER AND JACKSON LEE 10:55:04 A IN A POSSIBLE FASHION. WE CAN MEET THE NEED RESPONSIBLY 10:55:06 AND THEY'RE NOT FUTURELY EXCLUSIVE. 10:55:09 THANK YOU VERY MUCH, I YIELD BACK. 10:55:11 WE THANK THE GENTLEMAN FROM TEXAS AND THAT COMPLETES THE 10:55:16 PERIOD FOR OPENING STATEMENTS FROM ALL OF THE MEMBERS OF THE 10:55:24 SUBCOMMITTEE. THE CHAIR DOES NOT SEE ANY OTHER 10:55:28 MEMBERS. I WILL FIRST MAKES -- BEFORE WE 10:55:31 GO TO THE WITNESSES, I WILL FIRST MAKE A UNANIMOUS CONSENT 10:55:36 THAT CHAIRMAN STUPAK AND REPRESENTATIVES BLACKBURN, 10:55:42 CASTOR, WIENER AND JACKSON LEE BE PERMITTED TO QUESTION WITNESS 10:55:46 FOLLOWING QUESTIONS BY MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE. 10:55:52 WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE CHAIR HEARS NO OBJECTION FROM ANY OF 10:55:57 THE MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE. SO IT IS SO ORDERED. 10:56:07 IT IS THE POLICY TO SWEAR YOU IN BEFORE YOU TESTIFY. 10:56:13 SO I WOULD ASK EACH OF YOU TO PLEASE RISE AND RAISE YOUR RIGHT 10:56:21 HANDS. DO YOU EACH SOLEMNLY SWEAR TO 10:56:23 TELL THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH? 10:56:30 LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT EACH OF THE WITNESSES RESPONDED IN 10:56:34 THE AFFIRMATIVE. NOW, WE TURN TO OUR FIRST 10:56:42 WITNESS, MR. REX TILLERSON. MR. TILLERSON IS THE CHAIRMAN 10:56:46 AND THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION. 10:56:52 HE IS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE AND THE 10:56:56 AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE. WE WELCOME YOU, MR. TILLERSON, 10:57:01 PLEASE BEGIN WHEN YOU ARE READY. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN MARKEY. 10:57:05 RANKING MEMBER UPTON, MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE. 10:57:08 OF THE MANY ISSUES ON THE ENERGY AGENDA, NONE IS MORE PRESSING 10:57:12 THAN THE ACCIDENT AND THE SPILL UNFOLDING IN THE GULF OF MEX 10:57:16 KOEMPLT AS SOMEONE WHO HAS SPENT HIS ENTIRE CAREER IN THE ENERGY 10:57:21 INDUSTRY, IT TRULY IS DEEPLY SANDING TO SEE THE LOSS OF LIFE, 10:57:26 THE DAMAGE TO ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVE AREAS, THE EFFECT ON 10:57:30 THE ECONOMIC LIVELIHOOD HDS AND THE LOSS OF THE PUBLIC INTEREST 10:57:33 IN THE ENERGY INDUSTRY THAT HAS RESULTED. 10:57:37 CLEARLY THIS INCIDENT AND RESPONSE WILL HAVE IMPORTANT 10:57:40 CONSEQUENCES FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, FOR THE CITIZENS 10:57:41 AND BUSINESSES OF THE GULF COAST AND FOR OUR NATION'S ENERGY 10:57:47 POLICY. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT WE 10:57:48 UNDERSTAND THE EVENTS THAT LED TO THIS UNPRECEDENTED ACCIDENT. 10:57:54 AND TAKE CORRESPONDING STEPS TO FURTHER REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF 10:57:57 A SIMILAR EVENT EVER OCCURRING AGAIN. 10:57:59 AN EXPERT IMPARTIAL AND THOROUGH APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING WHAT 10:58:03 HAPPENED IS CRUCIAL BECAUSE THIS INCIDENT REPRESENTS A DRAMATIC 10:58:07 DEPARTURE FROM THE INDUSTRY NORM IN DEEP WATER DRILLING. 10:58:11 UNDERSTANDING THE FACTS SURROUNDING THIS INCIDENT IS 10:58:13 CRITICAL TO INFORMING THE LONG-TERM POLICY AND THE 10:58:18 OPERATIONAL RESPONSE. WE ARE EAGER TO LEARN WHAT 10:58:20 OCCURRED AT THIS WELL THAT DID NOT OCCUR AT THE OTHER 14,000 10:58:26 DEEP WATER WELLS THAT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY DRILLED AROUND THE 10:58:30 WORLD STMPLT CRITICAL WE UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED 10:58:33 IN THIS CASE. BOTH THE DRILL WELL DESIGN AND 10:58:37 OPERATING PROCEDURES AND THE EXECUTION OF THE DRILLING PLANS 10:58:40 WHICH LED TO SUCH SEVERE CONSEQUENCES. 10:58:43 WE NEED TO KNOW IF THE LEVEL OF RISK TAKEN WENT BEYOND THE 10:58:46 INDUSTRY NORMS. BASED ON THE INDUSTRY'S 10:58:51 EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE, WHAT WE DO KNOW IS WHEN YOU PROPERLY DESIGN 10:58:55 WELLS FOR THE RANGE OF RISK ANTICIPATED, FOLLOW ESTABLISHED 10:59:00 PROCEDURES, BUILD IN LAYERS OF REDUNDANCY, PROPERLY INSPECT AND 11:00:00 REX TILLERSON: IN THE EARLY 1990s WE BEGAN DEVELOPMENT OF OUR OPERATIONS 11:00:06 INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, A RIGOROUS REGIME OF 11 SEPARATE 11:00:10 ELEMENTS THAT MEASURES AND MITIGATES SAFETY, SECURITY, 11:00:13 HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK. IT IS SIGNIFICANT THAT THE FIRST 11:00:17 ELEMENT OF OIMS IS MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 11:00:23 THIS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM APPLIES TO EVERY OPERATION WE UNDERTAKE. 11:00:27 IT IS OUR COMMON GLOBAL LANGUAGE FOR SAFETY AND ACCOUNTABILITY 11:00:31 AND WHEN WE DO HAVE INCIDENTS, WE SEEK TO LEARN FROM THEM SO WE 11:00:36 CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE OUR PERFORMANCE AND THIS SYSTEM. 11:00:39 IT IS SYSTEM WHICH REQUIRES INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT 11:00:43 OF EACH BUSINESS UNIT'S PROGRESS TOWARDS COMPLYING WITH ALL OF 11:00:47 THE 11 ELEMENTS. WITH RESPECT TO DRILLING, 11:00:51 EXXONMOBIL HAS DRILLED ALMOST 8,000 WELLS WORLDWIDE OVER THE 11:00:55 LAST TEN YEARS. OF THESE, 262 HAVE BEEN IN DEEP 11:01:04 WATER INCLUDING THE GULF OF MEXICO. 11:01:07 THE STANDARDS DICTATE OUR APPROACH TO DRILLING AS THEY DO 11:01:10 FOR ALL OF OUR OTHER OPERATIONS. WE HAVE DOCUMENTED STANDARDS FOR 11:01:15 EQUIPMENT AND WELL DESIGN. WE UTILIZE PROPRIETARY 11:01:18 TECHNOLOGY TO PREDICT PRESSURES AND MODEL RESOURCE FLOW AND WE 11:01:24 CAREFULLY ANALYZE THAT INFORMATION TO BOTH UNDERSTAND 11:01:26 AND REDUCE THE RISK. WE ENSURE EVERYONE ON BOARD THE 11:01:31 RIG CONTRACTORS INCLUDED KNOW THEIR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 11:01:36 AND THAT ALL OPERATIONS MUST BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH EXXONMOBIL'S 11:01:40 EXPECTATIONS AND STANDARDS. AND WE TEST THIS KNOWLEDGE 11:01:44 THROUGH REGULAR DRILLS AND EXERCISES. 11:01:47 STICKING TO THIS SYSTEM HAS REQUIRED TO US MAKE SOME 11:01:49 DIFFICULT DECISIONS. WE DO NOT PROCEED WITH 11:01:53 OPERATIONS IF WE CANNOT DO SO SAFELY. 11:01:56 THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE SHOWN THEIR SUPPORT FOR DEEP WATER 11:01:59 DRILLING BUT THEY EXPECT IT TO BE DONE SAFELY AND IN AN 11:02:03 ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE WAY. THEY HAVE SUPPORTED IT BECAUSE 11:02:06 THEY UNDERSTAND IT IS IMPORTANT. IN THE GULF OF MEXICO IT 11:02:10 ACCOUNTS FOR ABOUT 24% OF U.S. OIL PRODUCTION. 11:02:14 OIL AND GAS ACTIVITY IN THE GULF INCLUDING DEEP WATER DRILLING 11:02:18 ACCOUNTS FOR APPROXIMATELY 170,000 DIRECT AND INDIRECT 11:02:26 JOBS. WORLDWIDE IT'S ESTIMATED TO 11:02:27 EQUAL IN A FEW YEARS THE ENTIRE PRODUCTION OF SAUDI ARABIA. 11:02:31 AND IT IS A VITAL PART OF AN INDUSTRY THAT SUPPORTS MORE THAN 11:02:37 9 MILLION FULL AND PART-TIME AMERICAN JOBS AND ADD $1 11:02:47 TRILLION TO OUR GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT. 11:02:48 WE CAN SECURE THIS TRUST IF WE TAKE THE TIME TO LEARN WHAT 11:02:51 HAPPENED AND DEVELOP OUR RESPONSE APPROPRIATELY TO ENSURE 11:02:55 THAT EVERY PARTICIPATE PANTS ACTS RESPONSIBLY, LEARNS THE 11:02:59 RIGHT LESS SCIENCE AND UPHOLDS THE HIGHEST STANDARDS. 11:03:01 THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DESERVE NOTHING LESS. 11:03:04 THANK YOU. WE THANK YOU, MR. TILLERSON. 11:03:07 OUR NEXT WITNESS IS MR. JOHN WATSON, MR. WATSON IS THE 11:03:12 CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE CHEVRON 11:03:19 CORPORATION. HE IS A DIRECTOR AND MEMBER OF 11:03:20 THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE AS 11:03:23 WELL AS A MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL PETROLEUM COUNCIL. 11:03:25 WE WELCOME YOU, MR. WATSON. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN MARKEY. 11:03:29 IF YOU COULD TURN ON YOUR MICROPHONE AND MOVE IT IN A 11:03:33 LITTLE CLOSER, MR. WATSON. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 11:03:36 RANKING MEMBER, UPTON. AGAIN, JUST MOVE IT IN A 11:03:40 LITTLE BIT CLOSER. OKAY. 11:03:42 VERY GOOD. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN AND 11:03:45 RANKING MEMBER UPTON. MY NAME IS JOHN WATSON I DO LEAD 11:03:49 CHEVRON. AS WE MEET TODAY, THE TRAGEDY IN 11:03:52 THE GULF OF MEXICO DOES CONTINUE TO UNFOLD. 11:03:55 OUR THOUGHTS ARE WITH THE FAMILIES WHO LOST LOVED ONES. 11:04:00 WORKERS WHO WERE INJURED AND COMMUNITIES THAT ARE DEALING 11:04:05 WITH THE ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL DAMAGE. 11:04:09 FOR CHEVRON, THIS TRAGEDY IS VERY PERSONAL. 11:04:12 OUR EMPLOYEES, NEW PEOPLE WHO DIED ON THE DEEP WATER HORIZON, 11:04:17 MORE THAN 13,000 CHEVRON EMPLOYEES LIVE AND WORK IN THE 11:04:21 GULF REGION, WE HAVE A VERY PERSONAL STAKE OPERATING SAFELY 11:04:26 BAUGH IT IS OUR HOME, TOO. FOR OUR INDUSTRY, THIS IS A 11:04:32 HUMBLING EXPERIENCE. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE EXPECT THAT 11:04:34 THE ENERGY WE NEED TO BE PRODUCED SAFELY AND RELIABLY AND 11:04:39 THAT DID NOT HAPPEN HERE. THIS MORNING, I'LL FOCUS MY 11:04:43 COMMENTS ON WHAT CHEVRON DID IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE 11:04:46 ACCIDENT AND WHY I BELIEVE DEEP WATER DEVELOPMENT CAN BE DONE 11:04:49 SAFELY OF AFTER THE DEEP WATER HORIZON ACCIDENT, CHEVRON 11:04:52 PROVIDED FULL SUPPORT TO THE RESPONSE. 11:04:54 WE DEPLOYED EXPERTS TO ASSIST BP AND ADVISE THE COAST GRD ON 11:04:58 MARINE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING. WE'VE ALSO BEEN WORK WITH 11:05:02 COMMUNITIES AND OKAY, ACROSS THE GULF REGION. 11:05:05 WE HELPED LEAD THE JOINT INDUSTRY TASK FORCE WHICH MADE 11:05:08 RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR TO 11:05:10 RAISE INDUSTRY STANDARDS TO AN EVEN HIGHER LEVEL. 11:05:13 A MAJORITY OF THESE STANDARDS ARE ALREADY EMBEDDED IN 11:05:17 CHEVRON'S OPERATIONS. WITHIN HOURS, CHEVRON HELD 11:05:21 SAFETY STANDDOWNS ON RIGS AROUND THE WORLD TO REVIEW DRILLING 11:05:24 PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES. WE EXAMINED OUR BLOWOUT 11:05:28 CONTINGENCY PLANS AND SCRUTINIZED OUR DRILLING AND 11:05:30 COMPLETION POLICIES. WE ALSO STRESS THE 11:05:33 RESPONSIBILITY THAT EVERY SINGLE CHEVRON EMPLOYEE AND CONTRACTOR 11:05:37 HAS AND THAT'S THE AUTHORITY TO STOP WORK IMMEDIATELY IF THEY 11:05:41 SEE ANYTHING UNSAFE. AT CHEVRON, WE REWARD PEOPLE WHO 11:05:46 EXERCISE THIS AUTHORITY. AT CHEVRON, ONE GOAL OVERRIDES 11:05:51 ALL OTHERS, MAKING SURE EVERYONE GOES HOME SAFE EVERY DAY. 11:05:55 WE HAVE MULTIPLE SYSTEMS TO PREVENT A TRAGEDY LIKE THE DEEP 11:05:59 WATER HORIZON. OUR DRILLING POLICIES AND 11:06:02 PROCEDURES ARE RIGOROUS. WE REQUIRE CONTINUOUS TRAINING, 11:06:06 WE CERTIFY OUR DRILLING PERSONNEL TO ENSURE THEY ARE 11:06:09 QUALIFIED TO MANAGE UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND WE VERIFY THE 11:06:13 CONTRACTORS HAVE THE SKILLS TO EXECUTE WELL CONTROL. 11:06:17 OUR SBERNL REVIEW CONFIRMED WHAT OUR REGULAR AUDITS HAVE TOLD US, 11:06:22 CHEVRON'S DEEP WATER DRILLING AND WELL CONTROL PRACTICES ARE 11:06:25 SAFE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND. SINCE OUR FIRST YEAR OF DEEP 11:06:29 WATER EXPLORATION IN 1987, WE HAVE DRILLED DEEP WATER WELLS 11:06:36 AROUND THE WORLD BUT WE KNOW THAT WE CAN ALWAYS LEARN AND 11:06:39 IMPROVE. SO WE WELCOME ANY NEW STANDARDS 11:06:41 AND SAFEGUARDS THAT IMPROVE SAFETY AND PREVENT FUTURE 11:06:46 ACCIDENTS. TO THAT END, WE MUST ACT QUICKLY 11:06:49 TO IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATION MADE BY THE JOINT INDUSTRY TASK 11:06:53 FORCE TO ENSURE THAT ALL COMPANIES ARE RATE OPERATING 11:06:55 WITH THE SAME HIGH STANDARDS OF SAFETY AND RELIABILITY. 11:06:59 CHEVRON WILL ACCEPT ANY NEW STANDARD AND ADOPT NEW STANDARDS 11:07:02 THAT DOESN'T ALREADY APPLY. WE MUST ALSO EXPEDITE THE WORK 11:07:06 OF TWO NEW INDUSTRY TASK FORCES, ONE FOCUSED ON SUB SEA WELL 11:07:10 CONTROL AND THE OTHER ON SPILL RESPONSE AND CLEANUP. 11:07:15 WE ALSO COMMITTED TO WORK WITH THE PRESIDENT'S INDEPENDENT 11:07:18 COMMISSION. WE'LL CONTRIBUTE TO IMPROVE 11:07:20 SAFETY IN EVERY WAY THAT WE CAN. NOW WE MUST RESTORE THE 11:07:25 COUNTRY'S CONFIDENCE IN DEEP WATER DRILLING. 11:07:27 I BELIEVE THE INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION WILL SHOW THAT 11:07:30 THIS TRAGEDY WAS INDEED PREVENTIBLE. 11:07:33 THIS IS NOT A TRADE-OFF OF ENERGY FOR SAFETY. 11:07:36 I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT RESPONSIBLE DEEP WATER 11:07:40 DEVELOPMENT MUST CONTINUE. AMERICA NEEDS THE ENERGY AND WE 11:07:42 CAN PRODUCE THAT ENERGY SAFELY. OUR NATION WOULD LOSE MORE THAN 11:07:47 IT HAS ALREADY LOST IF THIS ACCIDENT BECOMES THE BASIS FOR 11:07:50 REVERSING THE MANY BENEFITS OF OFFSHORE DEVELOPMENT. 11:07:55 TODAY PRODUCTION IN THE GULF OF MEXICO ACCOUNTS FOR 14% OF OUR 11:07:59 NATURAL GAS, 12% OF OUR DOMESTIC OIL SUPPLY. 11:08:03 GULF OF MEXICO PRODUCTION IS ALSO A FOUNDATION OF LOCAL 11:08:07 ECONOMIES, PROVIDING SIGNIFICANT JOB, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND 11:08:11 REVENUE. THE DEEP WATER HORIZON TRAGEDY 11:08:14 REINFORCES THAT ALL COMPANIES MUST OPERATE WITH THE SAME HIGH 11:08:17 STANDARDS OF SAFETY AND RELIABILITY. 11:08:20 IT'S CLEAR THAT FAILURE TO DO SO DOES HAVE DIRE CONSEQUENCES. 11:08:24 MR. CHAIRMAN, WE MUST LEARN FROM THIS ACCIDENT, WE MUST MAKE SURE 11:08:27 IT NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. MY COMPLIMENT TO YOU IS THAT 11:08:30 CHEVRON WILL DO EVERYTHING IN ITS POWER TO SEE THAT IT DIDN'T. 11:08:34 THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. WATSON. 11:08:36 OUR NEXT WITNESS IS MR. JAMES MULVA, THE CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF 11:08:44 EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE CONOCO-PHILLIPS COMPANY, HE IS 11:08:49 ALSO A MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL PET TROEM YUM COUNCIL AND HAS 11:08:52 SERVED AS CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL PETROLEUM INSTITUTE. 11:08:55 WE WELCOME YOU, WHENEVER YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE, MR. PLEASE 11:09:00 BEGIN. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN MARKEY, 11:09:04 RANKING MEMBER UPTON AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR 11:09:06 THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAR BEFORE YOU THIS MORNING. 11:09:09 ALL OF US AT CONOCO-PHILLIPS EXTEND OUR CONDOLENCES TO THE 11:09:15 FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF THOSE LOST ON THE DEEP WATER HORIZON. 11:09:21 THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS OF THOSE IMPACT BY THIS SPILL. 11:09:23 THE DEEP WATER HORIZON SINCE A MATTER OF NATIONAL YOU ARE JEN 11:09:27 SICHLT AS AMERICANS WE HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF JOINING TOGETHER 11:09:30 IN TIMES OF NEED. WE THEN WORK TO FIND SOLUTIONS 11:09:33 THAT ARE IN OUR NATIONAL INTEREST. 11:09:37 SO IN THAT SPIRIT AND IN SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLE ALONG THE GULF 11:09:41 COAST WHOSE LIVES AND LIVELIHOODS HAVE BEEN AFFECTED 11:09:45 CONOCO-PHILLIPS IS PROVIDING MANPOWER, MATERIAL AND RESOURCES 11:09:49 TO RESPONDERS AND THE EMERGENCY PERSONNEL THERE. 11:09:53 WE WILL DO SO UNTIL THE SPILL IS CONTAINED AND IN THE AFFECTED 11:09:56 AREAS HAVE BEEN RESTORED. WE ARE NOT IN A POSITION TO KNOW 11:10:02 ABOUT WHAT WENT WRONG AT THE DEEP WATER HORIZON. 11:10:05 THE COMPANIES INVOLVED AND THE REGULATORS CERTAINLY WILL DO 11:10:09 THAT. BUT AS AN INDUSTRY, WE MUST 11:10:11 COMMIT OURSELVES TO LEARNING LESSONS FROM THIS TRAGEDY 11:10:15 ENSURING NOTHING LIKE DEEP WATER HORIZON EVER HAPPENS AGAIN. 11:10:19 SO ANY NECESSARY CHANGES UNDERTAKEN BY CONGRESS, THE 11:10:22 EXECUTIVE BRANCH AND INDUSTRY SHOULD BE ONE ELEMENT FOR 11:10:26 BROADER NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY. THAT'S A POLICY THAT RECOGNIZES 11:10:29 THAT WE HAVE A ROBUST OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY THAT GENERATES 11:10:35 VITAL U.S. JOBS AS WELL AS SUBSTANTIAL STATE AND FEDERAL 11:10:38 REVENUE FROM TAX AND ROYALTY PAYMENTS. 11:10:42 ONE THAT GUARANTEES THE SECURITY OF THE ENERGY THAT DRIVES OUR 11:10:46 NATIONAL ECONOMIC WELL BEING. IT'S ALSO A POLICY THAT ASSURES 11:10:50 THE SAFE ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTION OF ALL 11:10:54 FORMS OF ENERGY OOLG WITH ITS WISE USE. 11:10:57 THESE ARE ESSENTIAL TO A HEALTHY AND TO A GROWING ECONOMY. 11:11:01 ANOTHER KEY ELEMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY POLICY 11:11:05 SHOULD BE FEDERAL ACTION TO ADDRESS GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE. 11:11:08 AS YOU ARE AWARE, CONOCO-PHILLIPS SUPPORTS PASSAGE 11:11:11 OF A COMPREHENSIVE FEDERAL LAW ESTABLISHING A CLEAR AND 11:11:16 TRANSPARENT PRICE FOR CARBON. A FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK 11:11:20 AT A MINIMUM MUST PROVIDE A PROGRAM TO MANAGE TRANSPORTATION 11:11:25 EMISSIONS, ONE THAT PROTECTS CONSUMERS WHILE ENCOURAGING 11:11:28 INVESTMENT IN LOWER CARBON TECHNOLOGIES. 11:11:32 IT ALSO MUST ADDRESS THE ENERGY INTENSIVE AND TRADE EXPOSED 11:11:36 NATURE OF OUR DOMESTIC REFINERIES. 11:11:38 IT MUST CREATE NEW LEGISLATIVE MECHANISMS SPECIFICALLY FOR 11:11:42 REGULATING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. 11:11:46 THIS WOULD BE IN PLACE OF THE CLEAN AIR, CLEAN WATER AND 11:11:49 ENDANGERED SPECIES ACTS AN OTHER FEDERAL AND STATE PROGRAMS. 11:11:53 IT MUST RECOGNIZE ESSENTIAL ROLE OF NATURAL GAS IN ACHIEVING A 11:11:59 LOWER CARBON ENERGY FUTURE. LASTLY, IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE OUR 11:12:04 NATIONAL ENERGY GOALS, U.S. ENERGY POLICY MUST CREATE, 11:12:08 SUPPLY DIVERSITY, PROMOTE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, 11:12:12 ENCOURAGE ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP. 11:12:17 TODAY, OUR COUNTRY IS WORK TOWARD AN ENERGY FUTURE 11:12:20 FEATURING A BROAD PORTFOLIO OF ENERGY SOURCES AND THESE WILL 11:12:24 INCLUDE RENEWABLE SOURCES AND CLEANER FOSSIL FUELS. 11:12:29 BROADER CONSERVATION AND NEW, MORE EFFICIENT ENERGY 11:12:32 TECHNOLOGIES. EACH. 11:12:33 THOSE APPROACHES WILL PROVIDE A PART OF THE LONG-TERM SOLUTION. 11:12:37 AS A NATION, WE'RE ON OUR WAY, WE WILL GET THERE BUT IT IS 11:12:40 GOING TO TAKE US SOME TIME. UNTIL THEN, WE MUST FULFILL 11:12:45 AMERICA'S PRESSING ENERGY NEEDS, IN SHORT PROVIDING FUEL THAT 11:12:49 ENABLES PEOPLE TO TRAVEL, TO WORK AND BACK. 11:12:52 MOVES GOODS AROUND THE WORLD. POWERS THE LIGHTING, HEAT, 11:12:56 ELECTRICITY AND MACHINERY IN WHICH OUR HOMES, FACTORIES AND 11:12:59 HOSPITALS DEPEND AND PROVIDES THE FUEL AND FERTILIZER THAT 11:13:03 ENABLES TO US FEED A GROWING POPULATION. 11:13:05 IN DOING THIS, EVEN WITH STRONG GROWTH AND RENEWABLE SOURCE, 11:13:09 CARBON BASED FUELS MUST KEEP CARRYING THE ENERGY LOAD FAR 11:13:14 INTO THE FUTURE. UNFORTUNATELY WE HAVE NATURAL 11:13:17 GAS. IT'S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT 11:13:20 DOMESTIC RESOURCE AVAILABLE FOR USE BY OUR COUNTRY IN REACHING 11:13:23 ITS CLIMATE AND ENERGY SECURITY OBJECTIVES, IT'S CLEAN, IT'S 11:13:27 AFFORDABLE, IT'S RELIABLE, ABUNDANT AND AVAILABLE HERP AT 11:13:31 HOME. WE BELIEVE THAT THROUGH A 11:13:33 NATIONAL SPIRIT OF SHARED COMMITMENT TO A MUTUALLY 11:13:37 BENEFICIAL OUTCOME, AMERICA CAN ACHIEVE ITS ENERGY GOALS. 11:13:41 AS A COMPANY, CONOCO-PHILLIPS IS COMMITTED TO DOING SO. 11:13:45 SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. 11:13:47 I LOOK FORWARD TO RESPONDING TO QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. 11:13:49 THANK YOU, MR. MULVA. OUR NEXT WITNESS IS MR. OWED 11:13:58 DEM, THE PRESIDENT OF THE SHELL OIL COMPANY. 11:14:02 HE'S ALSO ON THE BOARD OF THE AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE. 11:14:06 PLEASE BEGIN WHEN YOU ARE READY. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN MARKEY. 11:14:10 I AM MARVIN ODUM, PRESIDENT SHELL OIL COMPANY. 11:14:18 I WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE SITUATION IN THE GULF OF MEXICO 11:14:20 ON THE MINDS OF EVERY AMERICAN. ALL OF US ARE DEEPLY SADDENED BY 11:14:24 THE DEEP WATER HORIZON EXPLOSION AND AFTERMATH. 11:14:27 A TERRIBLE TRAGEDY FOR THE FAMILIES OF THOSE WHO LOST THEIR 11:14:30 LIVES OR WERE INJURED. MANY OF OUR EMPLOYEES AND 11:14:33 CUSTOMERS LIVE ALONG THE GULF COAST AND FEEL THAT PAIN 11:14:38 FIRSTHAND. GETTING TO THE ROOT CAUSE OF 11:14:40 THIS INCIDENT IS CRITICAL. LIKE YOU, WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT 11:14:43 WENT WRONG WITH THIS BELL WEL AND THE EXECUTION OF THIS WELL 11:14:48 DESIGN. AS AN INVESTIGATION FINDINGS 11:14:51 WERE AVAILABLE, SHELL WILL INCORPORATE ANY LEARNINGS INTO 11:14:55 OUR OPERATIONS WORLDWIDE. SINCE THE BEGIN, SHELL HAS MADE 11:14:58 EXPERTS EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES AVAILABLE TO BP AND THE 11:15:02 RESPONDERS YOU INCLUDING OUR ROBERT TRAINING CENTER OUTSIDE 11:15:04 OF NEW ORLEANS AS A SITE FOR UNIFIED COMMAND. 11:15:09 WE TOOK IMMEDIATE STEPS TO REINFORCE THE SAFETY OF OUR 11:15:13 OPERATIONS GLOBALLY INCLUDING A REVIEW OF OPERATING PRACTICES, 11:15:16 TESTING FREQUENCIES AND TRAINING PROTOCOLS. 11:15:20 WE REMAIN CONFIDENT IN OUR EXPERTISE AND PROCEDURES AND 11:15:24 THAT COMES FROM FOCUS ON FIVE CRITICAL AND INTEGRATED AREAS TO 11:15:29 ENSURE SAFE WELL DESIGN AND DRILLING IN THE DEEP WATER. 11:15:32 AND THOSE ARE OUR GLOBAL STANDARDS, OUR RIGOROUS TRAINING 11:15:36 AND CERTIFICATION OF THE ENGINEERS, A SAFETY CASE 11:15:42 APPROACH WITH OUR CONTRACTORS TO IDENTIFY THE RISK AND MITIGATE 11:15:45 THOSE RISKS. ENSURING ROW BUST AND MULTIPLE 11:15:49 BEAR YERTS IN OUR WELLS AND 24/7 REMOTE MONITORING BY SKILLED 11:15:56 PROFESSIONALS WHO PROVIDE IMMEDIATE SUPPORT ON CRITICAL 11:15:59 ISSUES SUCH AS WELL PRESSURE CHANGES. 11:16:03 SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ARE AND ALWAYS WILL 11:16:05 BE SHELL'S TOP PRIORITIES. WE WELCOME THE RECOMMENDATIONS 11:16:09 OUTFLIND SECRETARY SALAZAR'S MAY 27th REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND 11:16:14 THE JUNE NOTICE TO LEASEHOLDERS. MANY ELEMENTS ARE ALREADY 11:16:18 ALIGNED WITH OUR GLOBAL PRACTICES AND WE WILL WORK TO 11:16:21 INCORPORATE ALL OF THEM. IN THE CONTEXT OF THIS TRAGEDY, 11:16:27 WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE REASONS FOR THE PRESIDENT'S DECISION TO 11:16:29 PAUSE DEEP WATER DRILLING, BUT IT IS NOT WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES. 11:16:33 THOUSANDS OF JOBS LOST AND BILLIONS IN LOST WAMPS AND 11:16:36 SPENDING. AND NOT ONLY ON THE GULF COAST 11:16:38 BUT ALSO IN PLACES LIKE ALASKA. THIS BRINGS ME TO THE TOPIC THAT 11:16:43 YOU ASKED TO US SPEAK ABOUT TODAY. 11:16:45 AMERICA'S ENERGY FUTURE. AT SHELL, WE BELIEVE THAT 11:16:49 POPULATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH WILL DRIVE GLOBAL ENERGY DEMAND 11:16:52 TO POTENTIALLY DOUBLE TODAY'S USE BY 2050 EVEN WITH STRONG 11:16:57 EFFICIENCY GAINS. ENERGY SUPPLY FROM ALL SOURCES, 11:17:01 OIL, GAS, NUCLEAR, RENEWABLE AND OTHERS WILL STRUGGLE TO KEEP UP 11:17:04 WITH THIS DEMAND. ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSES WILL 11:17:08 GROW, MAKING THE TRANSITION TO LOWER CARBON ECONOMIES EVEN MORE 11:17:12 URGENT. WITH THIS AS A BACK DROP IT IS 11:17:14 CLEAR THE WORLD NEEDS A MORE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SYSTEM. 11:17:18 ALTERNATIVE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS COULD BE 30% OF THE NEW 11:17:23 ENERGY MIX BY 2050, THE SCALE AND MASSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE OF 11:17:26 THE GLOBAL ENERGY SYSTEM DOES MEAN THAT CHANGE TAKES TIME. 11:17:29 AT SHELL, WE BELIEVE OUR INDUSTRY CAN BEST CONTRIBUTE BY 11:17:34 MAKING MORE ENERGY AVAILABLE, BY REDUCING EMISSIONS AND BY 11:17:38 INCREASING OUR LOWER CARBON ENERGY SHARE WHILE JEN RALT 11:17:41 RATING JOBS AND DOING SO SAFELY AND RESPONSIBLY. 11:17:45 NATURAL IT WAS IS NOT RENEWABLE BUT IT IS ABUNDANT IN THE U.S. 11:17:50 AND A LOWER CO 2 ENERGY SOURCE. IT IS FAR THE QUICK EFFORT AND 11:17:56 LEAST EXPENSIVE ROUTE TO CLEANER AIR. 11:18:00 WITHIN A COUPLE OF YEARS, SHELL WILL BE PRODUCING MORE GAS THAN 11:18:03 OIL AND MUCH OF THAT IN NORTH AMERICA. 11:18:06 BIOFUELS ARE ALSO ONE OF THE BEST OPPORTUNITIES FOR REDUCING 11:18:09 CO 2 FROM TRANSPORTATION FOR THE AT LEAST THE NEXT 20 YEARS. 11:18:13 AS SHELL IS THE LARGEST SUPPLIER OF RENEWABLE BLEND FUELS AN 11:18:17 INVEFRTING IN LOWEST CO 2 BIOFUELS MADE FROM SUGAR CANE 11:18:23 ETHANOL WITH A JOINT VENTURE PROPOSED FOR BRAZIL. 11:18:27 INVESTMENT IN TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS THESE ARE CREATING JOBS. 11:18:30 ONE OUT OF EVERY FIVE DOLLARS NOTICE U.S. COMES FROM 11:18:33 INVESTMENTS MADE BY OUR ENERGY. OUR INDUSTRY, WHICH ALREADY 11:18:38 SUPPORTS MORE THAN 9.2 MILLION AMERICAN JOBS. 11:18:40 WE NEED TO RETAIN THESE JOBS AND CREATE NEW ONES TO FUEL THE 11:18:44 ECONOMY OF THE FUTURE. SOCIETY, GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS 11:18:48 MUST ALL DO THEIR PART. ABSENCE OF A REBUST ENERGY 11:18:52 POLICY HAS BEEN A DISADVANTAGE TO THIS NATION. 11:18:54 SHELL SUPPORTS LEGISLATING A SOLUTION TO ENERGY AND CLIMATE 11:18:58 ISSUES AS A MEANS TO CREATE, SECURE -- A SECURE U.S. ENERGY 11:19:04 FUTURE, TO REDUCE DEPENDENCE ON IMPORTED OIL AND TO REDUCE 11:19:10 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION, THIS REQUIRES SETTING A PRICE FOR 11:19:13 CARBON. BUT SHYING AWAY FROM OIL AND GAS 11:19:16 DEVELOPMENT DURING THE TRANSITION IS NOT THE ANSWER. 11:19:18 OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT IS TOO IMPORTANT TO THE U.S. ENERGY 11:19:21 SUPPLIES AND OUR ECONOMY TO NOT SAFELY AND RESPONSIBLY MOVE 11:19:24 FORWARD. SHELL STANDS READY AND ABLE WITH 11:19:27 SKILLED PEOPLE AND STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY TO 11:19:29 CONTINUE MEETING AMERICA'S NEEDS. 11:19:31 THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. I LOOK FORWARD TO ADDRESSING 11:19:33 YOUR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, MR. ODUM. 11:19:36 OUR FINAL WITNESS IS MR. LAMAR McKAY. 11:19:39 MR. McKAY IS THE PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN OF BP AMERICA. 11:19:44 MR. McKAY, PLEASE BEGIN WHEN YOU ARE READY. 11:19:49 THANK YOU. CHAIRMAN MARKEY, RANKING MEMBER 11:19:52 UPTON, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, MY NAME IS LAMARING IN KAY, I AM 11:19:56 CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT OF BP AMERICA. 11:19:58 BEFORE ADDRESSING THE MAIN TOPIC OF TODAY'S HEARING, I WOULD LIKE 11:20:02 TO REITERATE THE PROFOUND SORROW AND REGRET THAT ALL OF US AT BP 11:20:07 FEEL FOR THE LOSS OF LIFE AND THE OIL SPILL RESULTING FROM THE 11:20:12 DEEP WATER HORIZON EXPLOSION AND FIRE. 11:20:16 THIS IS VERY PERSONAL BOTH TO ME AND TO BP. 11:20:19 I AM FROM MISSISSIPPI. I GREW UP IN MISSISSIPPI. 11:20:23 I SPENT SUMMERS ON THE GULF COAST. 11:20:25 MOST OF MY FAMILY IS IN NEW ORLEANS. 11:20:28 AND I HAVE MOST OF MY RELATIVES AND FRIENDS ALONG THE GULF 11:20:32 COAST. THE GULF COAST STATES HAVE 11:20:35 HOSTED BP AND BP'S HERITAGE COMPANIES FOR DECADES. 11:20:39 THOUSANDS OF OUR EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTOR AND THEIR FAMILIES 11:20:43 CALL THE GULF COAST STATES HOME. THIS HORRENDOUS ACCIDENT HAS 11:20:51 PROFOUNDLY TOUCHED ALL OF US. THERE'S BEEN TREMENDOUS SHOCK 11:20:55 THAT SUCH AN ACCIDENT COULD HAVE HAPPENED. 11:20:58 AND GREAT SORROW FOR THE LIVES LOST AND INJURIES SUSTAINED. 11:21:02 I'D LIKE TO MAKE ONE THING VERY CLEAR. 11:21:04 BP WILL NOT REST UNTIL THE WELL IS UNDER CONTROL, WHEN WE 11:21:09 DISCOVER WHAT HAPPENED AND WHY. IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT IT NEVER 11:21:13 HAPPENS AGAIN. AS A RESPONSIBLE PARTY UNDER THE 11:21:17 OIL POLLUTION ACT OF 1990, WE WILL CARRY OUT OUR 11:21:21 RESPONSIBILITIES TO MITIGATE THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC 11:21:24 IMPACT OF THIS ACCIDENT. IN FACT, BP IS GOING BEYOND 11:21:31 OBLIGATIONS UNDER OPA TO AGREE TO PAY ALL LEGITIMATE CLAIMS FOR 11:21:36 ECONOMIC DA DAMAGES ULTIMATING FROM THE SPILL. 11:21:41 WHILE IT'S DIFFICULT TO DIVERT FROM THE HERE AND NOW, WE CANNOT 11:21:45 LOSE SIGHT FOR THE NEED TO SHAPE THE COUNTRY'S FUTURE ENERGY AND 11:21:48 CLIMATE POLICY. BP IS KMILTED TO WORKING WITH 11:21:50 THE CONGRESS AND THE BROAD CROSS SECTION OF ENERGY PRODUCER, 11:21:54 ENERGY CONSUMERS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS TO ADDRESS THE 11:21:57 CHALLENGES OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE CON TEGT OF INCREASING U.S. 11:22:02 ENERGY DEMAND. WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO 11:22:05 SHARE OUR VIEWS ON ENERGY AND CLIMATE POLICY AS WELL AS THE 11:22:09 CHANCE TO DISCUSS THE MAJOR ROLE OF NATURAL GAS THAT IT CAN PLAY 11:22:14 IN SPEED SPOOEDING EMISSION REDUCTIONS IN THE POWER SECTOR, 11:22:18 DELIVERING THE GREAT EFFORT REDUCTIONS AT THE LOWEST COST 11:22:20 FOR CONSUMERS USING TECHNOLOGY THAT IS AVAILABLE TODAY. 11:22:24 BP ADVOCATES AND HAS ADVOCATED FOR QUITE A TIME AN ALL OF THE 11:22:30 ABOVE APPROACH TO TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE. 11:22:33 ENHANCING U.S. ENERGY SECURITY AND MEETING THE NATION'S GROWING 11:22:35 NEED FOR ENERGY. WE DO SUPPORT POLICIES THAT 11:22:40 ENCOURAGE CONSERVATION. ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND GREATER 11:22:44 PRODUCTION OF DOMESTIC ENERGY INCLUDING ALTERNATIVES, OIL AND 11:22:48 GAS AND NUCLEAR. OUR VIEWS ON CLIMATE POLICY FLOW 11:22:52 FROM THE FACT THAT A TON OF CARBON IS A TON OF CARBON 11:22:56 WHETHER IT COMES OUT OF A TAIL PIPE OR A SMOKE STACK AND THE 11:22:59 BELIEF THAT EVERY TON SHOULD BE TREATED THE SAME. 11:23:03 WE SUPPORT A NATIONAL CLIMATE POLICY THAT CREATES A LEVEL 11:23:06 PLAYING FIELD FOR ALL FORMS OF ENERGY THAT PRODUCE CARBON 11:23:11 EMISSIONS. WE FAVOR AN ECONOMY-WIDE PRICE 11:23:14 FOR CARBON BASED ON FAIR AND EQUITABLE APPLICATION ACROSS ALL 11:23:19 SECTORS. MARKET BASED SOLUTIONS LIKE CAP 11:23:21 AND TRADE OR LINKED FEE ARE THE BEST SOLUTIONS TO MANAGE 11:23:25 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, APPLIED NATIONALLY, THESE WOULD 11:23:28 ACHIEVE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTIVENESS AT REDUCING 11:23:32 EMISSIONS, TREAT ALL ENERGY CONSUMERS EQUITABLY AND 11:23:36 FACILITATE INVESTMENT IN SUSTAINING AND CREATING JOBS. 11:23:38 WE HAVE LONG SUPPORTED TRANSITIONAL INCENTIVES FOR 11:23:42 ALTERNATIVES TO ASSIST OUR DEVELOPMENT AND ACCELERATE THEIR 11:23:46 MARKET ENTRY, ADDITIONALLY, WE THINK NATURAL GAS HOLDS GREAT 11:23:50 PROMISE IN BECOMING A LARGER COMPONENT OF THE U.S. ENERGY 11:23:53 POOL AND CAN PROVIDE A CRITICAL DOWN PAYMENT AT DELIVERING UPON 11:23:57 OUR CARBON REDUCTION GOALS. NOW I'D LIKE TO CONCLUDE BY 11:24:01 NOTING THAT WHILE BP IS IN THE MIDST OF A CRISIS RIGHT NOW AND 11:24:05 WE ARE PREFISHD JUDGED BY OUR RESPONSE TO THAT CRISIS, WE 11:24:09 CANNOT LOSE SIGHT OF THE FUTURE. THANK YOU AND I LOOK FORWARD TO 11:24:12 YOUR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, MR. McKAY. 11:24:17 THAT COMPLETES THE OPENING STATEMENTS OF OUR WITNESSES. 11:24:21 WE WILL NOW TURN TO QUESTIONS BY THE SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS. 11:24:27 THE CHAIR WILL RECOGNIZE HIMSELF. 11:24:30 AS I MENTIONED IN MY OPENING STATEMENT, THE GULF OF MEXICO 11:24:33 RESPONSE PLANS FOR EXXONMOBIL, CHEVRON, CONOCO-PHILLIPS AN 11:24:40 SHELL ARE VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL TO BP'S. 11:24:43 AND JUST AS DEFICIENT. AS YOU CAN SEE BY LOOKING AT THE 11:24:49 COVERS OF THESE FIVE PLANS, ON THE SCREEN AND OVER MY HEAD, THE 11:24:55 PICTURES ARE THE SAME FOR EACH PLAN. 11:24:57 ALL THAT IS CHANGED IS THE COLOR OF THE COVER OF THE PLAN FROM 11:25:03 EACH OF THE COMPANIES SEATED AT THE TABLE. 11:25:08 MR. TILLERSON, LIKE BP ON PAGE 11-6 OF YOUR PLAN, EXXONMOBIL'S 11:25:14 GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL RESPONSE PLAN LISTS WALRUSES 11:25:19 UNDER SENSITIVE BIOLOGICAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES. 11:25:23 AS I AM SURE YOU KNOW, THERE AREN'T ANY WALRUSES IN THE GULF 11:25:27 OF MEXICO. AND THERE HAVE NOT BEEN FOR 3 11:25:30 MILLION YEARS. HOW CAN EXXONMOBIL HAVE WALRUSES 11:25:37 IN THEIR RESPONSE PLAN FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO? 11:25:43 CONGRESSMAN MARKEY, THOSE RESPONSE PLANS INCORPORATE A 11:25:46 NUMBER OF BROAD BASED STUDIES, MARINE MAMMAL STUDIES, MANY OF 11:25:52 WHICH ARE PART OF THE EIS AND EIA STATEMENTS PUT TOGETHER BY 11:25:57 THE MMS AND MUCH OF THE RESPONSE PLAN WHAT IS CONTAINED IN IT IS 11:26:02 PRESCRIBED BY REGULATION. INCLUDING THE MODELS THAT ARE 11:26:06 USED TO PROJECT DIFFERENT SCENARIOS FOR ALL SPILLS AND 11:26:09 MANY OF THE STATEMENTS AND REPRESENTATION THAT ARE IN THE 11:26:12 PLANS -- THESE ARE REGIONAL. 11:26:14 I UNDERSTAND. OIL SPILL RESPONSE PLANS. 11:26:17 HOW CAN WALRUSES BE IN A RESPONSE PLAN FOR THE GULF OF 11:26:22 MEXICO? THIS IS A REGIONAL RESPONSE PLAN 11:26:25 THAT EACH OF YOU HAD TO PUT TOGETHER. 11:26:27 I UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION. IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT WALRUSES 11:26:31 ARE INCLUDED. AND IT'S AN EMBARRASSMENT THAT 11:26:35 THEY WERE INCLUDED BUT THAT'S PART OF A LARGER MARINE MAMMAL 11:26:38 STUDY THAT IS USED IN PREPARING REGIONAL RESPONSE PLANS. 11:26:41 MR. MULVA, YOUR PLAN AS WELL INCLUDES WALRUSES. 11:26:47 MR. WATSON, YOUR PLAN HAS THEM ON PAGE 11-6. 11:26:53 HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO HAVING WALRUSES IN YOUR PLAN? 11:26:58 I RESPOND IN A SIMILAR FASHION. 11:27:04 THE PLANS ARE PUT TOGETHER IN RESPONSE TO GUIDELINES FROM THE 11:27:10 MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE. DO YOU AGREE THAT IT'S AN 11:27:13 EMBARRASSMENT TO HAVE WALRUSES IN A RESPONSE PLAN FOR THE GULF 11:27:15 OF MEXICO, MR. WATSON. CERTAINLY FOR THE GULF OF 11:27:19 MEXICO IT'S NOT APPROPRIATE. MR. MULVA, DO YOU AGREE IT'S 11:27:24 AN EMBARRASSMENT TO HAVE IT INCLUDED IN THE PLAN. 11:27:27 I AGREE IT'S NOT APPROPRIATE FOR THAT REGION. 11:27:31 IN YOUR RESPONSE PLAN, MR. TILLERSON AS WELL AS SOME OF 11:27:37 THE OTHER PLANS INCLUDING CONOCO-PHILLIPS, THERE IS A DR. 11:27:43 LUTZ WHO IS REFERRED TO AS AN EXPERT. 11:27:46 A TECHNICAL SUPPORT PERSON. MR. LUTZ DIED IN 2005, FOUR 11:27:51 YEARS BEFORE THE PLAN WAS ACTUALLY FILED. 11:27:57 HOW, MR. TILLERSON, CAN YOU JUMP IN A RESPONSE PLAN HAVING A 11:28:01 PERSON WHO HAS BEEN DEAD FOR FOUR YEARS? 11:28:04 IS THAT ALSO AN EMBARRASSMENT IT. 11:28:07 IS BUT LET ME POINT OUT THAT DR. LUTZ IS PART OF THE 11:28:10 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI'S MARINE MAMMAL RESEARCH DIVISION WHICH 11:28:13 HAS BEEN AN IMPORTANT RESOURCE FOR PREPARATION OF THESE PLANS 11:28:16 FOR YEARS. THE FACT THAT DR. LUTZ DIED IN 11:28:19 2005 DOES NOT MEAN HIS WORK AND THE IMPORTANCE OF HIS WORK DIED 11:28:22 WITH HIM. THERE ARE MANY OTHER INDIVIDUALS 11:28:26 IDENTIFIED IN THE PLAN -- NO I APPRECIATE THAT. 11:28:30 EXPERTISE -- IT'S 2010. 11:28:31 A. AND THOSE NUMBERS ARE ALL 11:28:33 VALID IN THE PLAN. IT'S 2010, IT JUST SEEMS TO 11:28:37 ME THAT WHEN YOU INCLUDE DR. LUTZ' PHONE NUMBER IN YOUR PLAN 11:28:45 FOR RESPONSE, THAT YOU HAVE NOT TAKEN THIS RESPONSIBILITY 11:28:51 SERIOUSLY. MR. MULVA, THE SAME IS TRUE FOR 11:28:54 YOU. IS IT AN EMBARRASSMENT TO 11:28:57 CONOCO-PHILLIPS TO HAVE THAT AS PART OF YOUR PLAN? 11:29:00 WELL, THE PLANS NEED TO BE UPDATED MORE FREQUENTLY. 11:29:04 IT'S IMPORTANT IS THE INSTITUTION THAT'S WHO WE 11:29:07 REFER TO FOR SUPPORT. OBVIOUSLY, IT EMBARRASSING. 11:29:10 BUT WE REALLY LOOK TOWARDS THE INSTITUTION AND NOT NECESSARILY 11:29:14 THE INDIVIDUAL. IT JUST SEEMS TO ME THAT FOR 11:29:17 EACH YOUR COMPANIES, THE ONLY TECHNOLOGY YOU SEEM TO BE 11:29:20 RELYING UPON IS A XEROX MACHINE TO PUT TOGETHER YOUR RESPONSE 11:29:25 PLANS. THAT THERE WASN'T ENOUGH EFFORT 11:29:29 PUT TOGETHER TO ENSURE THAT IN THE GULF IF A CATASTROPHE 11:29:33 OCCURRED THAT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO RESPOND. 11:29:35 AND YOU A, MR. McKAY, IN THE FIRST WEEK, YOUR COMPANY 11:29:40 DEVELOPED A DOCUMENT THAT SHOWED THAT YOUR RANGE OF POSSIBILITIES 11:29:45 FOR AN ACCIDENT WAS ONE,000 TO WOULDN'T 14,000 BARRELS PER DAY. 11:29:58 YET YOUR COMPANY CONTINUALLY LOWBALLED THE NUMBER SAYING IT'S 11:30:03 1,000 BARRELS A DAY. NOW YOU'RE ESTIMATING IT COULD 11:30:06 BE UPWARDS OF 40,000 BARRELS A DAY AND YOU ARE TODAY CAPTURING 11:30:13 15,000 BARRELS A DAY OF OIL FROM THAT GUSHER. 11:30:16 ARE YOU READY TO APOLOGIZE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FOR GETTING 11:30:20 THAT NUMBER SO WRONG? HAVING BEEN SO INCOMPETENT OR 11:30:26 DECEPTIVE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT PROPER PREPARATIONS WERE 11:30:30 NOT PUT IN PLACE BECAUSE OF BP'S LOWBALLING OF THE ACTUAL AMOUNT 11:30:36 OF OIL THAT WAS GOING INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO? 11:30:40 FIRST, JUST TO BE CLEAR. THOSE WERE UNIIED AREA COMMAND 11:30:51 ESTIMATES. THE 5,000 BARRELS A DAY WAS DONE 11:30:55 GUY NOAA OUR INPUT AFTER THAT WAS A RANGE OF 1,000 TO 14,000 11:31:02 BARRELS A DAY AND OUR BEST ESTIMATE WAS ABOVE 5,000 BARRELS 11:31:06 A DAY, BUT THE UNIFIED AREA COMMAND ESTIMATE WAS FOIFR 11:31:15 5,000 BARRELS A DAY. 11:31:16 THINGS HAVE MOVE THING A -- THIS DOCUMENT I HAVE IS BP 11:31:20 CONFIDENTIAL IN THE FIRST WEEK T SAYS 1,000 TO 14,000. 11:31:25 THIS IS BP CONFIDENTIAL. ONUS, THE BURDEN, THE 11:31:36 RESPONSIBILITY WAS ON YOUR SHOULDERS. 11:31:38 YOU WERE ABLE THROUGH YOUR INTERNET TEASE TO MAKE THIS 11:31:40 DETERMINATION. I DO BELIEVE IT'S EITHER 11:31:43 DELIBERATE DECEPTION OR GROSS INCOMPETENCE BECAUSE ULTIMATELY 11:31:45 THE AMOUNT OF BOOM, SKIMERS, CLEANUP OF THE BEACHES AND 11:31:50 MARSHES AND RESCUE OF BIRDS AND TURTLES, THE CHAFLT WHICH YOU 11:31:55 NEEDED IN ORDER TO CAPTURE THE OIL COMING OUT OF THAT SPILL, 11:32:00 TESTING FOR THE HEALTH OF THE WORKERS, IT WAS ALL DEPENDENT 11:32:03 UPON HOW LARGE THE SPILL WAS. ARE YOU READY TO APOLOGIZE FOR 11:32:09 GETTING THAT NUMBER SO GROSSLY WRONG THAT THE CAPACITY OF 11:32:15 FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS TO PUT IN PLACE A RESPONSE WAS 11:32:20 DELAYED BECAUSE YOU DID NOT DO THE JOB? 11:32:23 I WILL JUST REITERATE WHAT COMMANDANT ALLEN SAID, THOSE 11:32:30 WERE UNIFIED AREA COMMAND ESTIMATES. 11:32:32 THEY WERE YOUR CAMERAS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN. 11:32:39 THAT'S TRUE. WE PROVIDED -- 11:32:41 YOU GOT IT MR., McKAY. B 11:32:51 GOT IT WRONG. WE HAVE PROVIDE ALL THE 11:32:54 INFORMATION TO THE COAST GUARD, NOAA WITH THE DATA WE HAVE. 11:32:58 ON THE DAY, MR. McKAY, THAT YOU ARE READY TO APOLOGIZE -- 11:33:01 WHAT'S THAT? ON THE DAY THAT YOU ARE READY 11:33:03 TO APOLOGIZE, THAT IS THE DAY THAT WE CAN BEGIN TO MOVE 11:33:06 FORWARD AND PUT TOGETHER THE KINDS OF PLANS THAT MAKE SURE 11:33:09 THIS NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. IT WAS BP'S SPILL BUT IT WAS 11:33:14 AMERICA'S OCEAN. WELL, WE ARE -- 11:33:16 WE NEED YOU TO ADMIT THAT YOU KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN VERY 11:33:21 EARLY ON THAT THIS WAS NOT A SPILL OF 1,000 OR 5,000 BARRELS 11:33:26 PER DAY. THEY WERE YOUR CAMERAS, YOUR 11:33:29 TECHNOLOGY, YOUR EXPERTISE THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WERE RELYING 11:33:33 UPON AND YOU GOT IT COMPLETELY WRONG. 11:33:36 EITHER IN ORDER TO LIMIT YOUR LIABILITY OR OUT OF 11:33:48 INCOMPETENCE, BUT THE ULTIMATE IMPACT ON REGION WILL LAST FOR 11:33:52 GENERATIONS. PLEASE, ONE FINAL CHANCE, 11:33:53 APOLOGIZE FOR GETTING THAT NUMBER WRONG. 11:33:55 WE ARE SORRY FOR EVERYTHING THE GULF COAST IS GOING THROUGH 11:33:59 AND. WE ARE SORRY FOR THAT AND THE 11:34:01 SPILL. WHAT I CAN SAY IS WE HAVE 11:34:02 PROVIDED EVERY BIT OF DATA AND INFORMATION WE HAVE TO THE 11:34:05 UNIFIED KPAND, TO THE GOVERNMENT, TO EVERY SCIENTIST 11:34:07 THAT'S WORKING ON THIS FULL-TIME AND FROM THAT DAY YOU'RE TALKING 11:34:13 ABOUT. SO WE DO NOT HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY 11:34:15 TO MEASURE THAT. THAT IS STILL UNDER EVALUATION. 11:34:18 I CONTINUE TO BELIEVE THAT BP IS STILL MORE INTERESTED IN ITS 11:34:22 LIABILITY THAN IT IS IN THE LIVEABILITY OF THE GULF AND THIS 11:34:27 HEARING IS JUST ONE FURTHER INDICATION OF THAT. 11:34:29 MY TIME IS EXPIRED. LET ME TURN AND RECOGNIZE THE 11:34:34 GENTLEMAN FROM MICHIGAN. MR. UPTON. 11:34:37 THANK YOU, MR. McKAY, YOU INDICATED THAT BP IS LOOKING TO 11:34:42 PAY ALL LEGITIMATE DAMPS. ARE YOU WILLING TO PUT INTO AN 11:34:46 ESCROW ACCOUNT ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY FOR SUCH DAMAGES AS MIGHT BE 11:34:51 EXPECTED? WELL, WE'VE BEEN VERY, VERY 11:34:53 CLEAR FROM DAY ONE THAT WE, AS A RESPONSIBLE PARTY UNDER OPA-90 11:34:59 WE ARE GOING TO BE LIVING UP TO THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF OPA-90. 11:35:05 I CAN NOT COMMENT ON WHETHER THERE WILL BE A FUND SET ASIDE 11:35:08 OR NOT. WE MADE IT CLEAR THE COMPANY 11:35:10 STANDS BEHIND THESE COMMITMENTS. SWE A STRONG BALANCE SHEET AND A 11:35:13 STRONG COMPANY, WE WILL STAND BEHIND THOSE. 11:35:16 I CANNOT COMMIT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER WHETHER A FUND WOULD SERVE 11:35:20 THAT FURTHERANCE. SO THAT'S A NO AT THIS POINT? 11:35:23 I CAN'T COMMENT YES OR NO. WHY NOT? 11:35:27 THE BUCK STOPS THERE. WE, WHAT WE'VE SAID IS WE'LL 11:35:31 HONOR ALL LEGITIMATE CLAIMS AND THE FULL COMPANY STANDS BEHIND 11:35:36 THAT. IF YOU ASKED THE FEDERAL 11:35:37 GOVERNMENT FOR ANY HELP THAT YOU'VE NOT RECEIVED? 11:35:42 NOT THAT I KNOW OF. WHAT GRADE WOULD YOU GIVE THE 11:35:46 ADMINISTRATION IN ITS EFFORTS TO STOP THIS SPILL? 11:35:50 WE'VE BEEN COOPERATING IN EVERY WAY WE KNOW HOW WITH THE 11:35:55 ADMINISTRATION. A, B, C, D. 11:35:56 I CAN'T GIVE A GRADE. THIS HAS BEEN A UNIFIED COMMAND 11:36:00 THAT WE'VE BEEN A PARTICIPANT IN WITH MANY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, 11:36:05 INDUSTRY, WE'VE GOT 140 COMPANIES WORKING ON THIS. 11:36:08 I CAN'T COMMENT ON A GRADE OF INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS OF THAT. 11:36:12 OF YOUR COUNTERPARTS THAT ARE AT THE TABLE, HAVE ANY OF THEM, 11:36:17 ARE YOU WORKING WITH ANY OF THEM TO TRY AND STOP THE LEAK? 11:36:19 YES, ALL OF THESE COMPANIES HAVE BEEN TREMENDOUSLY 11:36:22 SUPPORTIVE IN HELPING US. QUESTION FOR ALL OF YOU, AS 11:36:28 YOU DO DRILLS, DRILLING ACROSS THE WORLD, WHICH COUNTRY HAS THE 11:36:35 TOUGHEST REGULATIONS THAT ENFORCE THOSE REGULATIONS AND IF 11:36:40 THAT COUNTRY GETS AN A, WHERE WOULD YOU PUT THE U.S. WITH THE 11:36:45 ENFORCEMENT BY THE MMS? MR. TILLERSON? 11:36:48 WELL, I THINK THE UNITED STATES AND THE NORTH SEA 11:36:52 COUNTRIES HAVE THE MOST MATURE REGULATORY STRUCTURE AROUND 11:36:56 OFFSHORE DRILLING ACTIVITIES BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE IT'S TAKEN 11:36:59 PLACE THE LONGEST AND I CAN TELL YOU THOSE STANDARDS THEN GET 11:37:02 TAKEN TO COUNTRIES THAT DO NOT HAVE ESTABLISHED REGULATORY 11:37:07 STRUCTURES IN THE SAME STANDARDS ARE APPLIED EVERYWHERE. 11:37:09 SO THE SAME STANDARDS THAT ARE IN THE GULF AS IN THE NORTH 11:37:13 SEA? BY AND LARGE, THEY ARE THE 11:37:15 SAME. FOR EXXONMOBIL, WE TAKE WHAT WE 11:37:18 BELIEVE TO BE THE BEST PRACTICE, THE BEST AND APPLY THAT GLOBALLY 11:37:21 BECAUSE IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU ARE, IF YOU HAVE A 11:37:26 WELL CONTROL INCIDENT, YOU NEED TO USE THE BEST YOU HAVE 11:37:30 EVERYWHERE IN DEEP WATER DRILLING. 11:37:32 IT'S NOT AN AREA WHERE YOU MAKE A DISTINCTION STINGS I CAN GOING 11:37:36 TO CUT A CORNER BECAUSE I CAN. I KNOW THAT IN THE NORTH SEA 11:37:39 WHEN THEY HAD THE ACCIDENT BACK IN 1988 AND 180 FOLKS -- 11:37:44 PIPER ALPHA. RIGHT. 11:37:47 THE CHANGES WERE MADE IN TO SPLIT THE ENFORCEMENT AGENCY 11:37:55 SIMILAR TO WHAT THE ADMINISTRATION IS NOW PROPOSING 11:37:58 WITH THE MMS. IS THAT A BETTER SYSTEM THAN 11:38:00 WHAT WE HAVE IN THE UNITED STATES, RIGHT? 11:38:02 I DON'T NOPE THAT THE STRUCTURE IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE 11:38:06 COMPETENCY AND THE PROCESS BY WHICH THE OVERSIGHT OCCURS. 11:38:09 MR. WATSON? I'M NOT SURE I CAN GRADE ALL 11:38:14 THE DIFFERENCES ACROSS THE JURISDICTIONS. 11:38:16 I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS THE -- WHAT MODEL SHOULD WE BE 11:38:20 LOOKING AT? WE START WITH THE REGULATIONS 11:38:23 IN EACH COUNTRY. THEN WE APPLY OUR STANDARDS ON 11:38:26 TOP OF THOSE REGULATIONS. AND THEY ARE VERY SIMILAR. 11:38:30 THE APPLICATION OF OUR PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES ARE VERY SIMILAR 11:38:35 IN ALL THE COUNTRIES. WHERE THERE ARE PARTICULAR 11:38:38 REQUIREMENTS IN A PARTICULAR COUNTRY, WE, OF COURSE, COMPLY 11:38:42 WITH THOSE. OUR VIEW IS CERTAINLY THAT THE 11:38:43 UK AND THE U.S. HAVE VERY HIGH STANDARDS. 11:38:46 MR. MULVA? THE GREATEST PART OF OUR 11:38:52 EXPERIENCE AND OPERATION HAS BEEN IN THE NORTH SEA. 11:38:56 PARTICULARLY NORWAY AND THE UNITED KINGDOM AND IN THE NORWAY 11:39:00 AND THE UNITED KINGDOM, ESPECIALLY DEVELOPED SOME OF THE 11:39:05 BEST PRACTICES APPLICABLE AND USED AROUND THE WORLD. 11:39:07 SO IT'S BASED ON OUR EXPERIENCE OVER SEVERAL DECADES THAT THOSE 11:39:12 BEST PRACTICES AND OVERSIGHT REVIEW HAVE BEEN AMIND USED IN 11:39:18 THE INDUSTRY AND OTHER PRAISE PLACE OF THE WORLD. 11:39:20 SO I WOULD SAY THAT THEY RANK RIGHT UP AT THE TOP IN TERMS OF 11:39:25 CAPABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRACTICES. 11:39:28 MR. ODUM. SIMILAR ANSWER IN THAT I 11:39:33 THINK THE U.S. DOES HAVE ONE OF THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE SET OF 11:39:37 RECOMMENDATION FOR THE INDUSTRY IN THE WORLD. 11:39:38 YOU CAN FIND OTHER AREAS WHERE A PARTICULAR REGULATION MAY BE 11:39:42 MORE STRINGENT THAN WHAT YOU SEE IN THE U.S. 11:39:43 THE IMPORTANT PART FOR US AS A COMPANY IS GOING BACK TO WHAT I 11:39:47 CALLED MY TESTIMONY OUR GLOBAL STANDARDS. 11:39:49 HOW WE DO THINGS EVERYWHERE, THOSE OFTEN EXCEED THE 11:39:53 REGULATIONS IN ANY COUNTRY. MR. McKAY? 11:39:56 YES, I WOULD AGREE WITH THAMPL THE STANDARDS ARE SIMILAR 11:39:59 IN MANY PLACES WITH SOME SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES BUT THE 11:40:02 U.S. HAS A STRONG SET OF STANDARDS. 11:40:04 I WOULD ADD A COMMENT THAT I THINK LEARNING WHAT WE'RE 11:40:07 LEARNING THROUGH THIS WILL AUGMENT SOME OF THOSE STANDARDS 11:40:09 AND WILL BE HELPFUL. GENTLEMEN FROM MICHIGAN'S 11:40:16 TIME HAS ECK SPIDER SPOOIED. CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLEMAN 11:40:20 FROM CALIFORNIA, MR. WAXMAN. YESTERDAY, CHAIRMAN STUPAK 11:40:24 AND I SENT A LETTER TO TONY HAYWARDS CEO OF BP RAISING 11:40:31 QUESTIONS BE AT DESIGN AND SAFETY DECISIONS MADE BY BP AT 11:40:38 ITS McCONDO WELL. THE LETTER QUESTIONED DECISIONS 11:40:44 MADE BY BP THAT SEEMS TO INCREASE THE RISK OF 11:40:48 CATASTROPHIC BLOWOUT. I WOULD LIKE TO ASK EACH OF YOU 11:40:52 IF YOU THINK MISS TAKES WERE MADE BY BPP MR. TILLERSON. 11:40:57 WELL, IN REVIEWING THE LETTER THAT YOU BOTH SENT, IT APPEARS 11:41:00 CLEAR TO ME THAT A NUMBER OF DESIGN STANDARDS A THAT I WOULD 11:41:05 CONSIDER TO BE THE INDUSTRY NORM WERE NOT FOLLOWED. 11:41:07 LET ME GET THROUGH THIS QUICKLY. 11:41:08 YOU THINK THAT THEY MADE MISTAKES? 11:41:11 THE ANSWER YOU WOULD GIVE WOULD BE YES? 11:41:14 WE WOULD NOT HAVE DRILLED THE WELL THE WAY THEY DID. 11:41:16 HOW ABOUT YOU, MR. WATSON? WE'VE JUST HAD A CHANCE TO 11:41:20 TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR LETTER. IT'S QUITE LENGTHY OF COURSE 11:41:24 WITH A NUMBER OF DETAILED COMMENTS. 11:41:27 OUR EXPERTS ARE TAKING A LOCK AT T I'VE TRED MYSELF. 11:41:30 AND FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN, IT'S CONSISTENT WITH WHAT THE JOINT 11:41:34 INDUSTRY TASK FORCE FOUND, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO RAISE THE 11:41:38 BAR, IF YOU WILL, ON STANDARDS IN THE INDUSTRY AND IT CERTAINLY 11:41:42 APPEARS FROM YOUR LETTER THAT NOT ALL STANDARDS THAT WE WOULD 11:41:48 RECOMMEND OR THAT WE WOULD EMPLOY WERE IN PLACE. 11:41:50 DO ANY OF YOU DISAGREE WITH THE STATEMENT THAT BP MADE 11:41:56 MISTAKES? OKAY. 11:41:58 IT'S NOT A DISAGREEMENT, IT'S JUST CONFIRMATION THAT WE DON'T 11:42:02 HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION DPUT BUTT FROM THE INFORMATION IN 11:42:04 YOUR LETTER AND WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE WELL, A SIMILAR 11:42:07 STATEMENT IT'S THAT NOT A WELL THAT WE WOULD HAVE DRILLED WITH 11:42:11 THAT MEK SETUP AND THERE ARE OPERATIONAL CONCERNS. 11:42:15 MR. WATSON, YOU'RE QUOTED IN THE "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL" AS 11:42:17 SAYING THIS INCIDENT WAS PREVENTIBLE. 11:42:18 YES. WHAT MISS TAKES DID BP MAKE 11:42:21 THAT YOU WOULD NOT HAVE MADE? FIRST, WE WOULD SAY THAT AS 11:42:27 WE LOOK AT THIS INCIDENT, WE NEED TO LET THE INVESTIGATION 11:42:31 RUN ITS COURSE. WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS SINCE THE 11:42:33 FIRST DAYS OF THIS INVESTIGATION AND THIS ACCIDENT, WE'VE 11:42:38 PARTICIPATED IN THE JOINT INDUSTRY TASK FORCE WHERE THE 11:42:41 INDUSTRY -- NOW, YOU MADE THE 11:42:43 STATEMENT -- YOU WERE QUOTED AS SAYING THIS INCIDENT WAS 11:42:47 PREVENTIBLE. YES. 11:42:48 WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY TO PREVENT THE 11:42:51 DISASTER THAT WE'VE NOW ENCOUNTERED? 11:42:54 THERE ARE SEVERAL AREAS THAT APPEAR BASED ON THE INFORMATION 11:42:57 WE'VE SEEN IN THE JOINT INDUSTRY TASK FORCE AND BASED ON THE 11:43:00 INFORMATION WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GATHER THAT SUGGEST THAT 11:43:03 PRACTICES WE WOULD NOT PUT IN PLACE WERE EMPLOYED HERE? 11:43:06 SPECIFICALLY. FOR EXAMPLE THE CASING DESIGN 11:43:09 AND THE MECHANICAL BARRIERS THAT WERE PUT IN PLACE APPEAR TO BE 11:43:15 DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE WOULD USE. 11:43:16 GARY LICKETT HEADS CHEVRON'S EXPLOATION AND PRODUCTION UNIT. 11:43:22 HE SAID IN "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL" THAT CHEVRON USES A 11:43:24 SAFER WELL DESIGN. CAN YOU TELL US WHY THE CHEVRON 11:43:27 WELL DESIGN IS SAFER THAN BP'S? IT'S THOSE TWO 11:43:33 CHARACTERISTICS I COMMENT THERE ON TOP OF WHAT WE THINK ARE 11:43:35 EFFECTIVE PROCEDURES AND OTHER AUTHORITIES THAT WE HAVE IN 11:43:38 PLACE THAT WOULD HAVE PREVENTED THIS INCIDENT. 11:43:42 WELL, IN THE WELL DESIGN, BP HAS A CHOICE OF TWO PRIMARY 11:43:48 OPTIONS, CAN COULD LOWER A FULL STRING OF CASING FROM THE TOP OF 11:43:51 THE WELL TO THE BOTTOM OF THE WELL OR HANG A LIFTER -- HANG A 11:43:55 LINER FROM THE LOWER END OF THE CASING ALREADY IN THE WELL AND 11:43:58 INSTALL A TIE-BACK ON TOP OF THE LINER. 11:44:02 BP PLAN REVIEW RECOMMENDED AGAINST THE FULL STRING OF 11:44:06 CASING BECAUSE IT WAS IT WOULD CREATE AN OPEN ANALYST TO THE 11:44:11 WELL HEAD AND MAKE THE SEAL ASSEMBLY THE ONLY BAYER TO GAS 11:44:15 FLOW IF THE CEMENT JOB FAILED. WOULD YOU HAVE CHOSEN THE OTHER 11:44:19 OPTION? AND DO YOU CHOOSE THE OTHER 11:44:21 OPTION IN YOUR WELLS? WE WOULD NOT HAVE RUN A FULL 11:44:24 STRING. YOU WOULD NOT HAVE? 11:44:26 OKAY. MR. TILLERSON, YOU MADE A 11:44:29 SIMILAR CLAIM TODAY, YOU TESTIFIED THAT QUOTE, WHAT WE DO 11:44:31 KNOW IS THAT WHEN YOU PROPERLY DESIGN WELLS FROM THE RANGE OF 11:44:36 RISK ANTICIPATED FOLLOW ESTABLISHED PROCEDURE, BUILD IN 11:44:39 LAYERS OF REDUNDANCY, PROPERLY INSPECT AN MAINTAIN EQUIPMENT, 11:44:43 TRAIN OPERATORS, CONDUCT TESTS AND DRILLS, AND FOCUS ON SAFE 11:44:48 OPERATIONS AND RISK MANAGEMENT, TRAGIC INCIDENTS LIKE THE ONE IN 11:44:51 THE GULF OF MEXICO TODAY SHOULD NOT OCCUR. 11:44:54 MR. TILLERSON, YOU'VE SAID THIS BLOWOUT WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED 11:44:58 IF EXXONMOBIL HAD BEEN DRILLING THE WELL. 11:45:01 TELL US WHAT YOU WOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY IN AND PLEASE BE 11:45:05 SPECIFIC. WELL IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A 11:45:07 DIFFERENT WELL DESIGN. WE WOULD HAVE RUN A LINER, A 11:45:10 TIE-BACK LINER. WE WOULD HAVE USED A DIFFERENT 11:45:13 CEMENT FORMULATION, WE HAVE TESTED FOR CEMENT INTEGRITY 11:45:17 BEFORE WE CIRCULATED THE KILL WEIGHT MUD OUT. 11:45:20 WE WOULD HAVE HAD THE LOCK ARE SEAL RING BEFORE PROCEEDING. 11:45:24 AND LEADING UP TO ALL OF THAT, THOUGH, THERE WAS CLEARLY AND 11:45:28 THIS IS JUST BASED ON WHAT'S BEEN PUBLICLY MADE AVAILABLE, 11:45:32 THERE WERE CLEARLY A LOT OF INDICATIONS OR PROBLEMS WITH 11:45:35 THIS WELL GOING ON FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME LEADING UP TO THE 11:45:39 FINAL LOSS OF CONTROL. AND WHY THOSE WEREN'T 11:45:48 DEALT WITH DIFFERENTLY, I DON'T KNOW. 11:45:49 WE DON'T HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION, SO I WANT TO ECHO 11:45:52 WHAT MR. WATSON SAID. WE ARE VERY INTERESTED, AS I 11:45:54 SAID IN MY REMARK, WE WANT TO SEE THE FULL INVESTIGATION 11:45:57 BECAUSE WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND, WAS THERE SOMETHING ELSE PEOPLE 11:46:02 WERE LOOKING AT THAT CAUSED THEM TO MAKE THE DECISIONS THEY MADE 11:46:09 AS OPPOSED TO DECISIONS THAT WE WOULD HAVE MADE DIFFERENTLY THAT 11:46:12 LED TO THE ULTIMATE LOSS OF THE WELL. 11:46:13 THANK YOU, MY TIME IS RUNG OUT, BUT LET ME JUST MAKE A 11:46:17 STATEMENT, MR. CHAIRMAN. I FEEL MORE CONFIDENT IN THESE 11:46:19 ASSURANCES IF I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT EACH THE OIL SPILL 11:46:25 RESPONSES PLANS FROM THE COMPANIES ARE VIRTUALLY 11:46:29 IDENTICAL TO BP'S. YOU SAY YOU WOULD HAVE DONE 11:46:32 THINGS DIFFERENTLY. I WOULD THINK THAT CERTAINLY IN 11:46:36 RETROSPECT THAT'S A STATEMENT YOU WOULD CERTAINLY MAKE I HOPE 11:46:38 THAT'S TRUE, BUT THE RECORD DOES NOT SUPPORT THAT THE OTHER 11:46:42 COMPANIES HERE TODAY HAVE BEEN MORE PREPARED THAN BP. 11:46:50 SO I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TESTIMONY. 11:46:53 WE'VE GOT TO LEARN FROM THIS EXPERIENCE AND MOVE ON, BUT WE 11:46:56 HAVE TO LEARN THAT THESE THINGS HAVE TO BE THOUGHT OUT AND THE 11:47:00 PLANS SHOULD NOT JUST BEEN COOKIE CUTTER PLANS. 11:47:03 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. OKAY. 11:47:05 THE CHAIRMAN'S TIME HAS EXPIRED. THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE RANKING 11:47:10 MEMBER OF THE FULL COMMITTEE THE GENTLEMAN FROM TEXAS, 11:47:12 MR. BARTON. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 11:47:14 THE STAKES ARE A LOT HIGHER AND CONSEQUENCES ARE MUCH MORE DIRE 11:47:18 BUT THIS REMINDS A LITTLE BIT OF MONDAY MORNING CALL IN RADIO 11:47:24 TALK SHOW AFTER THE RED SKOES HAVE BLOWN ANOTHER ONE. 11:47:27 EVERYBODY HAS AN IDEA OF WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE AND NOW 11:47:30 THAT THEY KNOW WHAT WAS DONE AND IT WASN'T DONE PROPERLY, THEY'RE 11:47:34 MUCH SMARTER THAN THE COACH ON THE FIELD AND THE QUARTERBACK ON 11:47:37 THE FIELD AT THE TIME. SO IT'S VERY EASY TO SECOND 11:47:42 GUESS AND TO POINT OUT THE PROBLEMS. 11:47:47 THERE'S KIND OF GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS. 11:47:49 THE BAD NEWS IS THAT I AGREE WITH CHAIRMAN WAXMAN. 11:47:53 JUDGMENT CALLS WERE MADE THAT NOW THAT WE'RE -- NOW THAT WE 11:48:01 KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, THOSE WERE THE IMBRORP JUDGMENT. 11:48:03 THAT'S BAD. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS AND THIS IS 11:48:07 WHAT OUR INDUSTRY CEOs ARE SAYING, I THINK, IS THAT IT 11:48:11 PREVENTIBLE. YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS 11:48:13 TASK FORCE IS GOING DO RECOMMEND THAT MR. TILLERSON HAS ALLUDED 11:48:19 TO, BUT IF THE RECOMMENDATION IS THAT BEST PRACTICES ON THESE 11:48:23 DEEP WELLS OUGHT TO HAVE THESE DOUBLE SLEEVES, I THINK WE COULD 11:48:27 PUT THAT INTO REGULATION. IF WE NEED TO. 11:48:30 IF THE BEST PRACTICES IS YOU OUGHT TO PUT THE LOCKOUT COLLAR 11:48:33 ON THE WELL BEFORE YOU DO THE FINAL CEMENTING JOB, I THINK 11:48:36 THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE. 11:48:37 IF THE BEST PRACTICES IS THAT WE OUGHT TO REALLY FOCUS ON 11:48:43 DEGASSING THE MUD BEFORE YOU RECIRCULATE IT AND DO THAT FINAL 11:48:48 STAGE WHEN THIS ACCIDENT OCCURRED, I THINK WE'LL GO ALONG 11:48:51 WITH THAT. THESE ARE NOT HUGE TECHLY 11:48:55 COMPLEX, WE JUST DON'T KNOW HOW TO SOLVE THAT PARTICULAR 11:48:59 PROBLEM. SO THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS. 11:49:02 NOW MY FIRST QUESTION IS TO THE CEO OF BRITISH PETROLEUM OR THE 11:49:08 PRESIDENT OF BRITISH PETROLEUM, US HATS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TOLD, 11:49:13 ASKED THAT YOU DO ANYTHING THAT YOU JUST FLAT SAID NO TO? 11:49:17 HAVE THEY PROPOSED SOME SOLUTIONS THAT YOU'VE TURNED 11:49:20 DOWN THAT IN HIND SIGHTS IF YOU WOULD HAVE JUST DONE WHAT YOU 11:49:24 WERE TOLD DO, THE WELL WOULDN'T CONTINUE TO BE LEAKING? 11:49:27 NO, I DON'T KNOW OF ANY SOLUTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN BOROUGH 11:49:31 POSED THAT WE HAVEN'T DONE. AND IT IS BP'S RESPONSIBILITY 11:49:36 FOR THE WELL, I MEAN YOU ARE THE OWNER OF THE WELL. 11:49:38 BUT IN TERMS OF MITIGATION AND IN TERMS OF THE CLEANUP ON THE 11:49:43 BEACH, DID BP TELL THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES THAT WE 11:49:47 SHOULDN'T LET LOUISIANA PEOPLE GO OUT AND DO THOSE SAND BERMS? 11:49:50 WELL, WHAT WE -- NO, WHAT WE'VE ALWAYS SAID IS WHAT WE'RE 11:49:55 TRYING TO DO IS WORK THROUGH UNIFIED COMMAND. 11:49:58 DECISIONS FOR OPERATIONAL MATTERS LIKE THAT GO THROUGH 11:50:01 UNIFIED COMMAND. THEY DID GO THROUGH UNIFIED 11:50:06 THAT WAS A UNIFIED COMMAND DECISION. 11:50:10 ARE ANY OF THESE GOVERNMENT HERE BECAUSE YOU WERE 11:50:15 SUBPOENAED? YOU ARE ALL HERE VOLUNTARILY? 11:50:18 YOU HAVE CHOSE ON THE BE HERE? ISN'T THAT CORRECT? 11:50:21 IN TERMS OF BP, THIS TELEVISION CAMERA THAT'S SHOWING THE OIL, 11:50:26 ISN'T THAT YOUR TELEVISION CAMERA? 11:50:30 THAT'S THE REMOTE OPERATE TORE A REQUEST. 11:50:42 YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TOLD BY FEDERAL LAW THAT YOU HAVE TO DO THAT? 11:50:45 NO. WE AGREED WITH DEPARTMENT OF 11:50:48 INTERIOR AND OTHERS TO SUPPLY RIGHT OFF THE BAT. 11:50:52 WE HAVE RESPONDED TO REQUESTS TO OPEN THAT UP TO THE PUBLIC AND 11:50:55 OTHER CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERS. I WANT TO ASK THIS QUESTION 11:51:01 TO EXXON MOBILE AND CHEVRON. IF WE WERE TO MAINTAIN THIS 11:51:08 M MORATORIUM, HOW DOES THAT AFFECT 11:51:11 YOUR DECISION ON HOW THE GET THE INFORMATION THAT AMERICA NEEDS 11:51:17 TO AMERICA? DO YOU SIT ON YOUR HANDS OR LOOK 11:51:24 FOR THE ENERGY SOMEWHERE ELSE? WE WILL REDIRECT OUR HUMAN 11:51:28 RESOURCES TO OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD WHERE WE ARE ALLOWED TO 11:51:32 WORK AND WILL REDIRECT THE RIGS AND EQUIPMENT. 11:51:35 THIS STUFF IS TOO EK PENSIVE TO LET IT SIT AROUND. 11:51:39 WHAT'S IT COST PER DAY? WELL THE SPREAD RATE IS ABOUT 11:51:43 A MILLION DOLLARS A DAY? DO YOU ECHO WHAT MR. EXXON 11:51:50 JUST SAID? TWO OF WHICH WE ARE OPERATING 11:51:57 AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. NOW I AM TOLD THAT THE 11:52:07 CHINESE OIL COMPANIES ARE DRILLING OFF THE COAST OF CUBA 11:52:11 WHICH MEANS THEY ARE DRILLING OFF THE COAST OF FLORIDA. 11:52:15 DO ANY OF YOU GENTLEMEN HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THE 11:52:19 CHINESE OIL COMPANIES ARE SAFER AND MORE CONCERNED ABOUT SAFETY 11:52:23 THAN U.S. OIL COMPANIES? WITH I CAN'T SPEAK FOR THOSE 11:52:39 COMPANIES. HAVE THEY LED THE WAY IN ANY 11:52:43 AREA THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF? I AM NOT AWARE OF THOSE. 11:52:45 OKAY. OKAY. 11:52:50 LAST QUESTION. WE HAVE HEARD A LOT IN THE 11:52:54 SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY ABOUT NEW IDEAS TO ONCE YOU HAVE AN OIL 11:52:59 SPILL TO INSERT NATURAL ORGANISMS THAT BIODEGRADE AND 11:53:05 TURN IT INTO NON-HARMFUL SUBSTANCES. 11:53:10 WE WANT TO PREVENT THE SPILL. IF WE CAN'T PREVENT IT WE WANT 11:53:13 TO STOP IT. IF YOU HAVE ONE IS THERE HOPE 11:53:16 THAT WE WILL HAVE ORGANISMS THAT BIODEGRADE THE OIL QUICKLY SO 11:53:23 THAT IT DOESN'T HARM THE ENVIRONMENT? 11:53:31 I WOULD ONLY COMMENT THAT IN EFFECT, THAT'S PART OF WHAT THE 11:53:45 D DISPERSENT ACTION DOES. 11:53:59 THEY ARE ACTUALLY LESS TOXIC THAN SOAP. 11:54:03 I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME GO OVER IS AND KEEP 11:54:11 OUR INDUSTRY AND ENVIRONMENT SAFE AND GROWING. 11:54:17 THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLEMAN FROM MICHIGAN. 11:54:28 GENTLEMEN, YES OR NO, EACH IF YOU PLEASE. 11:54:32 YOU HAVE SEEN, WELL, THIS DOCUMENT WHICH IS THE DEPARTMENT 11:54:36 OF INTERIOR'S DO ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY ON JEGSS TO THE 11:54:49 R RECOMMENDATIONS CONTAINED THERE 11:54:53 IN. I HAVE LOOKED AT THE DOCUMENT 11:54:56 AND HAD SIGNIFICANT INPUT THEY MAY BE INTRODUCING MORE RISK IN 11:55:13 AN EFFORT, THEY MAY ACTUALLY BE INCREASING THE RISK IN SOME 11:55:20 AREAS. WHAT RISK ARE WE TRYING TO 11:55:32 MITIGATE. THERE ARE AREAS I DO HAVE 11:55:48 CONCERNS ABOUT. DOES THAT GENERALLY ADDRESS 11:55:50 YOUR FEELINGS EACH? THANK YOU. 11:56:04 THE DEEP WATER HORIZONS CONTAINS A SINGLE SET OF BLIND SHEER 11:56:10 RAMS. THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO CUT 11:56:12 THROUGH THE PIPE IN THE CASE OF EMERGENCY AND STOP THE FLOW OF 11:56:15 OIL AND GAS INTO THE WATER. THEY OBVIOUSLY FAILED TO CARRY 11:56:22 OUT THAT FUNCTION. DO YOU SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT WE 11:56:25 SHOULD HAVE DOUBLE OR REDUNDANT ONES? 11:56:29 WE HAVE RECOMMENDED ADDITIONAL REDUNDANCY. 11:56:41 AGAIN, IF YOU PLEASE, HOW MANY VESSELS DO YOU HAVE DOWN 11:56:52 THERE IN THE TO COLLECT THE OIL THAT IS ACHIEVED. 11:57:01 DO YOU HAVE ONE, SEVERAL, MORE ON THE ROAD. 11:57:05 ARE YOU GOING RUN OUT OF CAPACITY TO RECEIVE THE OIL THAT 11:57:08 YOU ARE RETRIEVING? AND THEN WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL 11:57:22 TWO ON THE WAY THAT SHOULD BE OUTFITTED AND FUNCTIONAL 11:57:27 POTENTIALLY BY MID JULY. IN TERMS OF TAKE PROGRESS 11:57:35 DUCTION OFF THE WELL, WE WILL HAVE UP TO ROUGHLY SIX THAT 11:57:38 WOULD TAKE DIRECT PRODUCTION IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE. 11:57:41 NOW I NOTE THAT YOU ARE HAUFR BURNING SOME OF THE RETRIEVED 11:57:48 OIL FOR ONE OF SPACER CAPACITY TO HANDLE IT. 11:57:51 IS THAT STILL GOING ON? THE OFFSHORE BURNING OCCURS 11:57:58 WHEN THERE IS ENOUGH OIL TO BOOM AND BURN. 11:58:09 WE HAVE CAPACITY TO BURN OIL THAT IS PRODUCED UP TO THAT 11:58:16 VESSEL. YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO, I 11:58:19 BELIEVE, HAVE A PLAN TO ADDRESS SPILLS OR CATASTROPHIC EVENTS. 11:58:27 I AM ASSUMING THAT EACH OF YOU DO. 11:58:29 WHAT IS THE DATE -- FIRST OF ALL, IS THAT PLAN FOR THE WHOLE 11:58:36 OF YOUR OPERATION OR IS IT. THERE IS A GULF REGIONAL PLAN 11:59:02 THE 12:00:24 REX TILLERSON: THE COAST GUARD HAS COMMAND OF THE INCIDENT AFTER 12:00:29 YOU HAVE THE SPILL. THE RESPONSIBLE PARTY WORKS WITH 12:00:34 THE COAST GUARD YOUR ACTIONS HAVE TO BE APPROVED BY THE COAST 12:00:46 GUARD BUT IT IS DONE IN A JOINT FASHION AND THE COAST GUARD 12:00:50 MAKES DETERMINATION OF WHEN CLEAN UP ACTIVITIES SHOULD BE 12:00:54 UNDERTAKEN AND WHEN YOU SHOULD STOP. 12:01:10 BUT I ALSO AGREE WITH THE STATEMENT THAT MUCH OF THIS. 12:01:20 NOW, IF YOU PLEASE, MR. McKAY, IN THE CASE THAT WE'RE 12:01:31 DISCUSSING HERE, HAS THE COAST GUARD MADE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS 12:01:35 WITH WHICH BP DID NOT AGREE? NO, I DON'T THINK THERE HAVE 12:01:44 BEEN ANY RECOMMENDATIONS. THE DECISIONS HAVE BEEN WORKED 12:01:48 TOGETHER THROUGH THE UNIFIED STRUCTURE AND MAJOR DECISIONS 12:01:52 HAVE OCCURRED UNDER THAT STRUCTURE AND WITH OUR SUPPORT. 12:01:55 HAS THERE BEEN ANY CONFLICT BETWEEN THE ADMINISTRATION AND 12:02:02 BP WITH REGARD TO THE CLEAN UP THAT HAS BEEN GOING FORWARD? 12:02:12 THERE HAVE BEEN DEA BAITS ABOUT EMPLOYMENT AND THAT IS 12:02:17 PART OF THE STRUCTURE BUT I THINK ALL THE MAJOR DECISIONS 12:02:20 THAT HAVE BEEN MADE HAVE BEEN SUPPORTED BY BP. 12:02:27 IS IT YOUR VIEW THAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD TAKE OVER THE 12:02:30 CLEAN UP OR IS IT YOUR VIEW THAT THAT SHOULD REMAIN AS IT IS OR 12:02:39 SHOULD IT BE THE PRESENCE PL AND SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE 12:02:45 OPERATOR OR THE. THIS IS EFFECTIVE. 12:02:53 I THINK THIS ACTUALLY -- I UNDERSTAND EVERYONE'S 12:02:59 FRUSTRATION WITH HOW LONG THIS IS TAKING. 12:03:07 IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT WE CAN'T GET IT STOPPED AT THE SOURCE. 12:03:11 I THINK THE C NOW IN ONE RECOMMENDATION HE 12:03:29 RECOMMENDS THAT THERE BE THE FINALIZATION OF A RULE THAT 12:03:31 WOULD REQUIRE THE OPERATORS OF DRILLING WELLS TO DEVELOP ROBUST 12:03:38 SAFETY AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR OFFSHORE DRILLING 12:03:42 OPERATIONS. IN 2009 WHEN THIS WAS FIRST 12:03:45 PROPOSED, THE OFF-SHORE R OPERATORS COMMITTEE RAISED KURNS 12:03:55 ABOUT IT. WOULD YOU SUPPORT -- IS THERE 12:04:02 ANYONE AT THE TABLE WHO WOULD NOT SUPPORT THE FINALIZATION OF 12:04:07 THAT RULE? I NOTICE YOU HAVE THE SAME 12:04:14 PROBLEM AS I DO. I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR WHAT 12:04:22 YOU ARE REFERRING TO. I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND 12:04:30 EXACTLY WHAT RULE YOU ARE REFERRING TO. 12:04:32 ONE OF THE SECRETARY'S RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THE 12:04:36 FINALIZATION OF THE RULES R 12:04:41 REQUIRING OPERATORS OF DRILLING WELLS TO DEVELOP ROBUST SAFETY 12:04:49 AND MY QUESTION TO YOU, GENTLEMEN, WOULD YOU SUPPORT 12:04:57 SUCH A RECOMMENDATION? I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK AND 12:05:06 LOOK AT THE SPECIFICS. I DON'T REMEMBER ENOUGH OF THE 12:05:12 DETAILS. I AM. 12:05:25 THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLEMAN FROM TEXAS. 12:05:34 I WANT TO POSE THE SAME QUESTION. 12:05:36 EVERYONE IN THE PANEL BEFORE US IS THERE ANY IDEA THAT YOU HAVE 12:05:43 AT THIS POINT THAT WOULD STOP IS THERE SOMETHING YOU COULD SHARE 12:05:50 WITH US THAT HAS NOT BEEN TRIED THAT WILL BRING A RAPID 12:05:54 CONCLUSION TO THIS? WE KNOW BP DOESN'T HAVE THAT 12:05:57 IDEA. DO ANY OF THE REST OF YOU?