There have been substantial and corroborated allegations made by workers from the Deepwater Horizon that a day before the break a BP representative overrode workers on the rig because he wanted to use seawater instead of drilling fluid, which is more expensive. The drill was days (maybe weeks) behind schedule, and the cost of operating the rig is enormous.

As for being in a scapegoating phase, perhaps your news sources aren't doing their job, but the United States' National Public Radio has been reporting this for nearly a month now.