Safety concerns in Gulf oil rig worker survey: paper

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Workers on the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico expressed concern about safety practices in a confidential survey conducted a month before the oil rig exploded, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

In a survey commissioned by rig owner Transocean, workers said they "often saw unsafe behaviors on the rig" and indicated they feared reprisals if they reported mistakes or other problems, the Times said.

The Deepwater Horizon rig, leased by BP Plc, exploded April 20, killing 11 workers and triggering an environmental disaster as oil spilled unchecked from the Gulf sea bed for nearly three months.

BP capped the blown-out well last week, choking off the flow of oil for the first time since the explosion. The company is conducting pressure tests to ensure the seal can hold.

The Times said the worker survey and a separate equipment assessment, carried out by different divisions of Lloyd's Register Group, a maritime and risk management firm, were likely to broaden the discussion of blame for the explosion.

The equipment assessment report cited at least 26 components and systems on the rig that were in "bad" or "poor" condition, the Times said.

Transocean spokesman Lou Colasuonno, who confirmed the existence of the survey, told the Times most of the components on the rig that were in poor shape were minor and that all elements of the blowout preventer had been inspected in the time frame required by the manufacturer.

The employee survey was conducted March 12-16 on the rig using focus groups and one-on-one interviews with at least 40 Transocean workers, the Times said.

The reports indicated the rig was strong in many core aspects of safety management and that most workers felt they could raise safety concerns and have the issue dealt with "if this was in the immediate control of the rig," the Times said.

But it quoted the report as saying, "It must be stated at this point, however, that the workforce felt that this level of influence was restricted to issues that could be resolved directly on the rig, and that they had little influence at Divisional or Corporate levels."

Only about half of the workers surveyed said they felt they could report actions leading to a potentially risky situation without reprisal.

"This fear was seen to be driven by decisions made in Houston rather than those made by rig-based leaders," the Times quoted the report as saying.

"I'm petrified of dropping anything from heights, not because I'm afraid of hurting anyone (the area is barriered off), but because I'm afraid of getting fired," one worker wrote.

"The company is always using fear tactics," the Times quoted another as saying. "All these games and your mind gets tired."

(Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Doina Chiacu)