bp probably knew something was wrong when they were drilling. my guess is they didnt realize the oil well would have so much pressure, hence the explosion.
Considering the fact that BP emailed the MMS that they were having trouble stabilizing the pressure in the well many, many weeks in advance, this isn't all that amazing.
AND this gives convenient popularity to almost all of the Democrats agendas from Global Warming to outlawing cars and everyone hating corporations, etc.