DOJ says BOP and cement testing still under way

Justice Department attorney Michael Underhill said that a forensic report on the failed blowout preventor (BOP) which led to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent Gulf of Mexico oil spill should be finished in March.

Underhill spoke at a status conference for the BP multidistrict litigation in Judge Carl Barbier's chambers at U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Barbier expressed concern over reports that the testing for the BOP and the cement used in drilling the Deepwater Horizon was falling behind. Underhill stated that the testing on the BOP should be done by the first week of March, but that's "not a promise."

Underhill stated that the BOP investigation has already cost millions of dollars and has involved laser scanning all the equipment removed from the device. He also said that the forensic report on the BOP should be done by the end of March.

Federal MDL 2:10-md-02179