Natural Resources committee  To answer your first question about our submission on the same-season relief well, in our submission, you will note, we have not rejected the option of drilling a same-season relief well. We do cite the technical challenges with regard to drilling a well in that same season. Moving on to our efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, we are on record as saying that we will continue to aggressively attack the cleanup, and we will pay all legitimate claims against us.

Natural Resources committee  It would be best to convey those questions to a technical expert on the matter.

Natural Resources committee  A relief well is a response effort to an incident that has already happened. The focus that we have, and that the industry has, is on the prevention of incidents in the first place, obviously. That is why it's very important, as an industry and as a company, to take the results of the investigations that are going on and look at how we can properly apply those preventative measures.

Natural Resources committee  Our submission was in support of reviewing the policy and, as I've already iterated, we don't reject the option of a relief well, but we do believe, with the particular circumstances in the Arctic and the difficulty that Mr. Snow has already outlined of achieving a relief well in the same season, that a review is--

Natural Resources committee  It's not a question of cost.

Natural Resources committee  The action plan we're following is a very well-set-out action plan, and it sits within an overall spill response plan that was designed at the time we applied for the well. So it also sits within an instant command system structure that exists in the United States. These plans are set out and are well resourced, and they are precise in some areas in terms of shore protection, and they also have flexible elements to allow for the rapid staging up of any response effort.

Natural Resources committee  In BP, in concert with the entire industry, our first focus is on prevention, so that is preventing any incidents from taking place. Clearly, in this instance the fail-safe device, the blowout preventer, did not work. Our second response is one of spill response and cleanup. With regard to the Arctic, I think it's very important that we wait for the study and for the investigations to complete and as an industry take the results and findings from those investigations into the review of the same-season relief well policy.

Natural Resources committee  I'm sorry, but was that a question for the NEB or for me? That was a question for me. Okay. I'm not an expert in oil spill techniques in an Arctic environment, so I would have to defer to other experts on that.

Natural Resources committee  I want to be very clear that in our submission to the National Energy Board, we were very clear that we're not rejecting the option of drilling a relief well. We are citing the challenge of drilling a relief well within the same season. Clearly, there is good cause for the NEB to look at the current provisions as they relate to relief well policy; the specific and very challenging attributes of the unique circumstances of the Arctic; and to consider how, as an industry, under their auspices, we do safeguard the environment there.

Natural Resources committee  I haven't carried out a detailed comparative evaluation of the two regulatory regimes, so it would be inappropriate for me to respond to that question.

Natural Resources committee  Let me be clear about our position on that. The NEB commenced the same-season relief well review, and as a participant in that review, BP registered. In that registration, we said that BP is not rejecting the option of a relief well, but we are acknowledging the challenge of drilling a relief well within the same season, which is a reason for the NEB to carry on and do the full review.

Natural Resources committee  The submission we made was to be a participant in the hearing. We haven't rejected the option of pursuing a relief well. I think it's very important, with the investigations going on, to allow those investigations to conclude, and then for ourselves and the industry to take the lessons learned from those investigations and apply them in the specific and very unique circumstances of the Beaufort.

Natural Resources committee  Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak to your committee today. I have some prepared remarks relating to the April 20 incident on the Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and on the resources and expertise BP is bringing to bear in the spill response effort.