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Hafle discussed this further with David Sims, and they agreed that the
Deepwater Horizon crew should move forward with the installation of the lock‐
down sleeve as part of its temporary abandonment procedures. BP chose to do
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this even though the Deepwater Horizon was a rig that conducted exploratory
drilling operations – operations that did not typically include the setting of a
lock‐down sleeve, which was typically done by a rig that specializes in
completion operations. Indeed, the Panel concluded that none of the BP
personnel on the rig on April 20 had experience setting a lock‐down sleeve.
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Common industry practice is, due to safety concerns, to set the lock‐down sleeve
in mud prior to displacement and setting of the cement plug. Although the crew
displaced the mud, the crew never got to the point of setting the lock‐down
sleeve.

The Panel found no evidence that BP assessed the risks associated with its
decision to set the lock‐down sleeve. This decision increased the risk associated
with subsequent procedures, including the setting of the surface plug, the
displacement, and the negative test sequence. In all likelihood, had the lock‐
down sleeve been set at a later time, the surface plug would not have been set as
deep; the surface plug would have been set sooner; and displacement would not
have resulted in a lower pressure differential in the well.

Notwithstanding the fact that the crew was unfamiliar with setting the
lock‐down sleeve and that this procedure would increase operational risk, there
is evidence that members of the crew might have become complacent after
drilling was completed. BP contractor Ross Skidmore, when asked about his
concerns on the timing of setting the lock‐down sleeve, testified that “when you
get to that point, everybody goes to the mind set that weʹre through, this job is
done.”
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B. Setting the Cement Plug

On April 16, BP submitted to MMS, and MMS approved, a revised
temporary abandonment plan stating that the lock‐down sleeve was to be set

200 BP‐HZN‐MBI100446. One reason to set the lock‐down sleeve during temporary abandonment
is to enhance safety by protecting the production casing against uplift forces that might occur
during production as a result of hydrocarbons flowing up the wellbore. The panel, however,
found no evidence that BP decided to set the lock‐down sleeve when it did out of safety concerns.
201 Testimony of Merrick Kelley, Joint Investigation Hearing, August 27, 2010, at 289‐90.
202 Testimony of Ross Skidmore, Joint Investigation Hearing, July 20, 2010, at 263‐64.

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