I'm not sure what to think. While I don't know a lot about drilling oil wells specifically, my first degree is in mechanical engineering and although I've never worked as one I know that engineers prefer to oversecure everything where a failure would cause injuries, not to mention disasters on this scale. Simply put, safety always comes first on the drawing boards of engineers.

For example, simple elevators are typically designed to be able to safely carry 7-10 times their normal operating weight, including the cabin. I find it hard to believe that "many of their safety systems" just failed - I think it's a lot more likely that a series of really stupid human mistakes are behind this as well as management that is unable or unwilling to enforce (sometimes costly) safety procedures and practices.

It would in many ways be much better if this were only a failure of regulation. It’s trivial to change rules and with a catastrophe like this the incentive to do so is there. Looking back at other catastrophes (I always have to think of Chernobyl, I don’t know why) I fear much rather that your view of the causes (mistakes and laziness) might be closer to the truth. That’s not as easy to change.

Something like 1 billion! oil wells have been drilled. And about 100,000 offshore oil wells. Many many accidents have there been?

It's actually a pretty good safety record.

Sigh. I wrote billion, but meant million. :(

And when I wrote "Many many" I meant "How many". :(