BP Oil Rig Blast Hearing Scrapped As Witnesses Stay Away

NEW ORLEANS (AFP)--A hearing into an April explosion aboard a BP PLC-leased oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico has been cancelled, after four witnesses refused to offer their testimony voluntarily. A joint investigation board held two sessions of hearings in May to delve into the circumstances of the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig, the platform's material condition and its crew qualifications and preparedness. A third session focusing on the "how" and the "why," also known as the "technical verification" phase, began Monday with four witnesses from Transocean Ltd. (RIG) company--which leased the rig to BP--scheduled to testify Wednesday. The four witnesses, the board said in a statement, "declined to voluntarily appear at the hearings" forcing Wednesday's session to be cancelled. The four Transocean employees were issued subpoenas, but because they don't reside within the jurisdiction of the joint investigation, "the board cannot compel them to appear," a statement said. "The joint investigation board will confer to determine a course of action to gather the necessary facts and information to complete the investigation," it added. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig sank two days after it exploded, killing 11 workers and triggering what could be the worst accidental oil spill in history. (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 20, 2010 22:23 ET (02:23 GMT)