Oil rig final hours finally being probed

With it appearing the oil leak has stopped for now, attention is turning to the final hours before the Deepwater Horizon became national news. Part of the recommended Wall Street Journal article:

In particular, the panel is examining why rig workers missed telltale signs that the well was close to an uncontrolled blowout, according to an internal document assembled by the investigators and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The document lists more than 20 "anomalies" in the well's behavior and the crew's response that particularly interest the investigators.

Investigators are also turning attention to decisions made by employees of Transocean Ltd., the rig's owner, in addition to those made by BP that day, the list indicates. In particular, the list suggests investigators are looking at whether better coordination between the two companies might have prevented the disaster. The document includes several instances of unexpected pressure increases triggering disagreements among workers from the two firms.

The anomalies list was prepared by a joint investigation of the U.S. Coast Guard and the agency that oversees deepwater drilling, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (previously known as the Minerals Management Service). The panel will meet for five days of testimony this week and hear from BP and Transocean employees. The list reflects some of the main issues the panel intends to probe in that testimony.