Kevin Lacy, BP Official, Resigned Prior To Gulf Oil Spill Due To Safety Issues

HOUSTON — A former official with BP's drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico resigned just months before last year's oil spill because of disagreements with the oil giant over its commitment to safety, according to a class-action federal lawsuit related to the spill.

Documents filed Monday night in Houston claim Kevin Lacy, BP's former senior vice president for drilling operations for the Gulf of Mexico, reached a mutual agreement with the company to resign in December 2009 because he believed the company was not adequately committed to improving safety protocols in offshore drilling operations to the level of its industry peers. The Deepwater Horizon rig explosion occurred on April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers and causing the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

The claims come in an amended version of the lawsuit, originally filed last year, that alleges BP inflated its stock price by hiding information and making false and misleading statements about its safety practices before the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP's stock value dropped roughly in half following the oil rig explosion and spill.

BP spokesman Daren Beaudo declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Public pension funds in New York and Ohio are the lead plaintiffs in the suit, which also includes individual investors and the Oklahoma police pension system. Similar lawsuits by the different plaintiffs originally were filed in New Orleans but were consolidated and moved to Houston federal court.

The amended complaint claims that a company reorganization that began in 2007, which resulted in numerous layoffs and cuts to safety budgets, "would materially affect the Company's ability to drill safely in the Gulf of Mexico."

"Lacy's departure from the Gulf of Mexico drilling unit in December 2009 coincided with other additional and extensive reshuffling of personnel in the BP Gulf of Mexico drilling unit . such that by the time of the Deepwater Horizon incident, four out of five of BP's senior drilling officials for the Gulf of Mexico had only been in their posts for a few months," according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit cites a confidential witness for information about cutbacks and layoffs in safety programs and budgets.

The suit said Lacy, an experienced drilling engineer who had implemented a rigorous drilling safety program while at Chevron, had been recruited to join BP in 2007 to improve and standardize its drilling policies and protocols.

A telephone number was unlisted for Kevin Lacy in Houston.

The amended complaint also listed various accidents and safety problems BP had before the oil spill, incidents which have been previously detailed in other lawsuits and investigations of the oil giant.

The oil rig blast led to more than 200 million gallons of oil spewing from BP's well a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico, according to government estimates.

The Justice Department is conducting on ongoing criminal investigation and already has sued some of the companies involved. A presidential commission that investigated the spill said last month that management failures at BP, rig owner Transocean Ltd. and contractor Halliburton Co. led to the blowout and explosion.

BP's own investigation shared the blame among itself, Transocean and Halliburton.

Comments

[joevecchio]

11:42 AM on 02/17/2011

BP could have done better is the logic. So in 1992, when Clinton took office, democrats didn't want to drill in the 1002 area of ANWR, YET democrats went out and bought over 30 million 16mpg SUVs without asking where the oil is coming from in the future, 2020. ( VEHICLES HAVE A LIFE CYCLE OF TEN YEARS ) Yet why didn't they buy and support the 40mpg 4 door Geo Metro during this same period? THAT'S carelessness.

Remember during the DNC primary debates in 2008? Democrats advertised not small 40mpg cars, they advertised 17mpg Mercedes SUVs. Got it on film.

Who creates the demand? MTV helps. The sweet 16 kids get BMWs and Hummers for Bday gifts and not 40mpg AVEOs or Fits.

JOE VECCHIO LIBERAL FIREMAN

[Mark Harker]

11:12 AM on 02/17/2011

their are real actual people that work at BP? I thought it was just a monolithic symbol of evil? who knew.

[patman77]

11:02 AM on 02/17/2011

did he report it. or just shuffle off to buffalo.

[AWL]

12:01 AM on 02/17/2011

If only he had wikileaked it?

[getoffmedz]

07:24 PM on 02/16/2011

Thank you Huffington Post for keeping the BP Gulf of Mexico Crude Oil Gusher Disaster story alive.

So soon we forget.

[Larry J McLovemaster]

07:00 PM on 02/15/2011

The Feds should come up with a point system, like the states have for driving. After a few points you loose your permit to drill in that area, and after several more the feds will pull your license to drill in our country. The executives who knew of the safety problems & had the power to change things, but didn't, should face 2nd degree murder charges & assault with a deadly weapon. If we do this, we will never have another BP type spills in our country again.

[Bogstomper2]

08:03 PM on 02/15/2011

"The Feds should come up with a point system, like the states have for driving."

That's a pretty good idea. After all, corporations only exist under the conditions that we the people set. They're granted certain privileges, and if they abuse those privileges they should lose them.

[patman77]

11:04 AM on 02/17/2011

zero tolerance for negligence or lobbying for dereg.

[1tiel]

05:41 PM on 02/15/2011

People just don't think...hindsight is 20/20, what else is new?

[lightningbolt]

04:48 PM on 02/15/2011

BP clearly KNEW that they were ignoring safety rules.  BP executives MUST be arrested for criminal negligence.

[1tiel]

05:42 PM on 02/15/2011

I wish there was such an offense as criminal stupidity...the BP execs would have felony charges of repeat stupidity offenses...they should also be charged with heinous crimes against the environment and mankind for the damage they've caused. I spent 25 min driving around the other day since I didn't want to go to BP to get gas...I'm so happy it was the only gas station in Queens that was DESERTED!!!!

[lightningbolt]

10:22 AM on 02/16/2011

BP officials are definitely guilty of criminal negligence.  They can be legally punished in this country.  Unfortunately, the law doesn't matter anymore.  Only money and connections matter these days.

[lightningbolt]

04:47 PM on 02/15/2011

"The Justice Department is conducting on ongoing criminal investigation and already has sued some of the companies involved."

The justice department is being too nice by merely suing them.  Criminal charges need to be submitted and the executives responsible for ignoring safety should be arrested.

[getoffmedz]

07:30 PM on 02/16/2011

Multiple counts of manslaughter should be included.

This is a crime, not a civil matter.

[sachazg]

02:39 PM on 02/15/2011

Only 100% US companies should be allowed to drill in the US. Then we reap the benefits and can hold them accountable too.

[ArjenBoatsma]

02:09 PM on 02/15/2011

Reading the headline on the front page, my first thought was that this man must be an engineer, not an accountant, lawyer or MBA. Low and behold, the article confirms this man IS an engineer. One of the very few professions left where integrity still means something.

[Cabo600]

12:55 PM on 02/15/2011

A rarity indeed, an honest oil executive.

[anti politricks]

12:45 PM on 02/15/2011

kevin lacy did something right. even if only half right. there was more moral compassing in his choices than BP will ever have steering them.

if you think kevin lacy could have done something to help or prevent things, look at how private manning is being treated. WHISTLE BLOWERS are tarred and feathered in this country.

[garymc8]

12:39 PM on 02/15/2011

Whose worse?
BP for causing the spill due to GREED?
K.Lacy for KNOWING and not speaking up until FORCED due to GREED?
More from small "a" americans.

[anti politricks]

12:44 PM on 02/15/2011

not that i am disagreeing with you, but do you really think that lacy could have changed anything?

i think BP would have never left this get out to the media, nor would the media have cared pre-oilspill that is.
he did the only thing he thought he could: remove himself from the monster he couldn't stop.

[The Dude67]

01:39 PM on 02/15/2011

Or the Justice Dept for letting everyone off the hook.  There is no criminal investigation related to the 11 deaths that occurred from this negligence.  The "criminal" investigations are all related to violations of the Clean Water Act and other such 'violations'.

No one will do jail time and that is our best indication of a massive conspiracy between government and industry - in which those at the top are not subject to the rules - any rules up to an including murd3r.

[tompoe]

11:43 AM on 02/15/2011

Gee. Imagine resigning, and then not speaking up until forced to do so, as millions of Americans suffer, not to mention the untold environmental damage done. Lacey is hopefully, about to lose his luxury lifestyle.

[RnR]

11:49 AM on 02/15/2011

Why? What could he have done that would not have led to a media destruction of his character and maybe even an intelligence community directed effort to discredit him?

[Christian Figueroa]

12:02 PM on 02/15/2011

Yeah, we treat whistle blowers so well. (sarcasm)