Oil companies review their safety policies following Macondo spill

Oil and gas industry executives surveyed by Delotte LLP were about evenly split regarding whether changing US offshore regulations actually will improve drilling safety.

Of 201 executives polled earlier this month, 41% said yes while 42% said no. The rest said they don't know.

Regarding future corporate health and safety policy, 57% said their companies are more likely to review and update HSE policy as a result of BP PLC's Macondo well blowout and the resulting explosion and fire on Transocean Ltd.'s Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible. The accident triggered a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Nearly 60% of those polled said any improvements in drilling safety will come from the industry itself rather than from government regulations or third-party insurance and financing requirements.