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By Kristen Hays
HOUSTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - BP Plc has sevencontracted rigs drilling wells in the Gulf of Mexico nearlythree years after its disastrous Macondo oil spill - and moreeyes and ears on each well than ever before, the company says.
As part of its repeated promises to shore up safety in theaftermath of the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, BPhas added a layer of oversight at a monitoring center in Houstonwith experts watching the wells day and night.
Rig operations are still controlled aboard each rig, but theonshore experts can stop the work if they detect irregularpressure or some other anomaly.
The intent is to watch more closely for the kinds ofproblems that led to Macondo's rupture in April 2010, whichcaused an explosion that killed 11 men and spewed nearly 5million barrels of crude from the runaway well.
Before the spill, BP had planned to add a monitoring centerat its global exploration and production hub in Houston, Butsince Macondo, the focus changed from operational updates andcost oversight to well integrity.
"The actual makeup and role came from the learnings of theaccident," BP well operations manager Chris Harder toldreporters Tuesday during a tour of the center.
BP is slated to go to trial in federal court in New OrleansFeb. 25 on potentially massive spill-related civil claims fromthe U.S. Justice Department, states along the U.S. Gulf Coast,and others.
The key issue in the case is the level of BP's negligence inthe spill. A gross negligence finding could quadruple damagesowed by BP under the Clean Water Act to $21 billion.
Before Macondo, BP connected onshore and offshore engineersvia satellite for daily updates on Gulf operations, productivityand cost oversight -- but not well control.
Macondo changed the center's focus. Well site engineers andexperts watch computer screens in 12-hour shifts -- the samehours as rig workers -- to monitor pumps, pressure, and pits, orthe tanks on rigs that hold liquids used in drilling.
"We're weaving a safety net," said Richard Morrison, BP'shead of Gulf operations.
Overall BP has committed $37 billion to settle spill-relatedclaims in the years after the disaster. That includes a record$4 billion in criminal penalties that accompanied BP's guiltyplea to 11 felony counts stemming from workers' deaths, felonyobstruction of Congress and two misdemeanors.
It also includes an uncapped estimated $7.8 billionclass-action settlement to resolve claims from more than 100,000individuals and businesses claiming economic and medical damagesfrom the spill.
Transocean, owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig thatexploded when Macondo ruptured, has a hearing on Thursday in NewOrleans on its proposed federal criminal settlement.
