Rig Victim’s Kin Wants More Safety Before Drilling

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The brother of one of the 11 workers killed on the Deepwater Horizon rig last year knows Gulf offshore drilling is important to his home state of Louisiana, but he wants Congress to keep pressuring the oil and gas industry to improve safety.

Chris Jones told a House Committee on Natural Resources hearing Wednesday that while BP and other companies want to move on, he believes no one should have to needlessly risk his or her life to earn a living.

Officials from several Gulf states countered that drilling permits are not being issued fast enough, costing jobs and revenue.

Jones' brother, Gordon, was a mud engineer for M-I Swaco who was killed when the rig exploded. The blast led to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.