Deepwater Horizon Manager Refuses to Testify in Spill Lawsuits
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Jimmy Wayne Harrell, Transocean Ltd.’s highest-ranking drilling employee on the Deepwater Horizon rig before it exploded and sank, refused to testify in civil lawsuits over the accident, according to court records.
Harrell, the rig’s offshore installation manager, was in charge of drilling activities on the Deepwater Horizon, which exploded April 20, 2010, while drilling a BP Plc well off the Louisiana coast. Harrell, the point man between BP and the drilling crew, told federal investigators at public hearings in New Orleans last year that he was in command of the rig before the explosion, which killed 11 workers and caused the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.