BP official: Effort to shut Gulf well was 'late'

HOUSTON (AP) — Workers on the doomed Gulf of Mexico oil rig were distracted by multiple activities going on simultaneously and didn't try to shut the well until 49 minutes after potentially explosive gas particles began flowing in, a BP vice president told a federal investigative panel today.

Steve Robinson, who led the team that questioned the wellsite leaders as part of BP PLC's internal probe, said at hearings in Houston that the actions were late. He said that by the time the crew reacted, the hydrocarbons were already in the riser. He said they couldn't be contained, only diverted.

An explosion occurred just minutes later, killing 11 workers and leading to more than 200 million gallons of oil spewing from BP's well a mile beneath the sea, according to government estimates.

The joint U.S. Coast Guard-Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement panel is nearing the final stretch in its quest to assign blame for the April 20 disaster.

This is the panel's sixth series of hearings, and at least one more is expected before the panel issues its report, which is due by March 27.