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wellhead.
 Two variable bore rams (“VBRs”) designed to seal around several
different sizes of drill pipe but do not shear or otherwise affect the drill
pipe.
 Test ram (converted VBR), which is an inverted VBR that is designed
to only hold pressure from the top down.
324
 Casing shear designed to cut through drill string or casing. It
consisted of a cutting element only, and was not designed to seal.
 Blind shear ram (sometimes referred to as “BSR”) consisting of both a
cutting and sealing element and designed to cut the drill pipe and seal
the well.
 Choke and kill lines, which are high‐pressure pipes that led from an
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outlet on the BOP stack to the rig pumps. Typically, the choke does
not connect to the rig pumps, however, the Deepwater Horizon BOP
could use the choke and kill lines interchangeably.
 Remotely operated vehicle (“ROV”) panels – operating panels that
allow an ROV lowered to the sea floor to activate certain function on
the BOP stack.
326
 Accumulator bottles, which provided hydraulic fluid used to operate
the various BOP elements.

At the time of the blowout, the major components of the lower marine
riser package consisted of the following:

 Two annulars (upper and lower), which are rubber‐metal composite
elements capable of closing around the drill pipe to seal the annulus.
 Blue and yellow pods, two redundant control pods used to operate the
BOP components.
 Multiplex connector, the point at which the multiplex lines connect to
the BOP stack.
 ROV hot stab panels, which are operating panels that allow an ROV
lowered to the sea floor to activate certain function on the BOP stack.
 Accumulator bottles, which provided hydraulic fluid used to operate
the various BOP elements.

324 BP‐HZN‐MBI‐000136647; BP Deepwater Horizon Accident Investigation Report, 172.
325 During well control operations, rig crews pump kill fluid through the drill string and annular
fluid is removed from the well using the choke line.
326 To “hot stab” is to insert an ROV’s robotic arm into a hydraulic port on the BOP stack to pump
hydraulic fluid into the BOP ram closing system.

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