Oil Rig Workers To Criticize Transocean In US House Hearing

Two Transocean Ltd. (RIG) workers who were aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig when it exploded are preparing to tell a U.S. House of Representatives committee there were safety issues with the rig before the disaster.

In prepared written testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Douglas Harold Brown, the chief mechanic and acting second engineer on the rig, said there was a "progressive problem" on the rig with downsizing the number of crew members assigned to the engine room.

"Because of the cuts in the number of engine room personnel, we were often days, weeks and even months behind in completing the necessary preventative maintenance requirements," Brown said.

Brown described the scene on the rig in the wake of the explosion: "People were crying and screaming that they did not want to die; there was confusion and panic everywhere."

Brown, who suffered leg injuries, was treated at a local hospital and then taken to a hotel where, he said, "I was then immediately taken to a room and interrogated by two lawyers from Transocean in front of a court reporter."

Stephen Stone, a general laborer on the rig, said in written testimony that the blowout of the well "was hardly the first thing to go wrong."

Stone said the rig employees had to pump down a heavy-duty sealant compound four times in 20 days to seal cracks in the underground formation.

Stone said after the blast a Transocean representative asked him to sign a document saying he was not injured in order to obtain $5,000 for the loss of his personal possessions.

"I never would have expected for my company to treat me like a criminal after I had survived such a disaster by making me submit to a drug test, and they try to tempt or trick me into giving up my legal rights by signing forms without a lawyer present," he said.

Thursday's hearing, which will examine legal liability issues surrounding the disaster, will feature 11 witnesses, including representatives from BP PLC (BP, BP.LN), Transocean, Halliburton Co. (HAL) and Cameron International Corp. (CAM).

-By Brent Kendall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9222; brent.kendall@dowjones.com

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