The following is a fact-check from the May 30, 2010 episode of Meet the Press.





CAROL BROWNER | There have not been similar accidents with underwater wells – FALSE

MS. BROWNER: David, I, I, I think that we have to understand all of these things going forward. But I do think it’s important to understand that these wells have been drilled for several decades now. There have not been these kinds of accidents.

An accident occurred on June 3, 1979, on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico called Ixtoc, where for 10 months oil spilled uncontrollably into the Gulf. The similarities between the Ixtoc accident and the Deepwater Horizon are identical other than the water depth at which the Deepwater Horizon is located. The Ixtoc accident involved an initial blowout and platform fire, uncontrolled gushing of oil into Gulf, faulty BOP, attempts to cap oil, and two relief wells. The Deepwater Horizon accident has involved an initial blowout and platform fire, uncontrolled gushing of oil into Gulf, broken BOP, multiple attempts to cap oil, and two relief wells are currently being dug.

Robert Dudley (BP) made a similar claim on the same episode of Meet the Press, and through a previous fact-check, we found his statement FALSE, as we also find Carol Browner’s statement FALSE.





This fact-check took 10 minutes.