US senators blame oil executives for spill

US senators have tried to pin the blame for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill on the companies involved, scrutinising their safety practices and demanding full compensation be paid for the cleanup.

In hearings before two Senate committees, lawmakers accused executives from BP America Inc, Transocean Ltd, and Halliburton Co, of trying to shift the blame onto each other, and then subjected each to tough, technical questions about safety and how the well was sealed.

BP America, a subsidiary of BP Plc, received the toughest criticism, with Democratic Senator Ron Wyden accusing the company of a "pattern of serious safety and environmental problems."

The US House will hold a hearing into the catastrophe on Wednesday and a series of Congressional panels expected in coming weeks could spawn new legislation on drilling practices.

But several senators, especially those from oil-producing states, said Washington should make offshore oil drilling safer, not abandon it.

On the way into the hearing, the executives were met by protesters holding signs saying "Boycott BP" and "BP Kills," and six young women, with black ink on their faces, wearing T-shirts with the words, "Energy shouldn't cost lives."