- WASHINGTON: BP's humbled CEO told Congress on Thursday he was "deeply sorry" for the company's catastrophic oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico as he sought to repair the British oil giant's reputation for its role in America's worst environmental disaster.
A day after agreeing to a $20 billion victims' compensation fund, BP executive Tony Hayward told Congress in prepared testimony that he was "personally devastated" by the April explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that triggered the giant spill — and that he understands the anger that Americans feel toward him and his company.
Before beginning his own testimony, Hayward was buffeted by scathing criticism from lawmakers from both parties.
Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman, said that in his committee's review of 30,000 items, there was "not a single e-mail or document that you paid even the slightest attention to the dangers at this well." Hayward was appearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on oversight and investigations, which is looking into the April 20 explosion that killed 11 workers and unleashed the oil geyser on the floor of the Gulf, nearly a mile (1,600 meters) below the surface.