Gulf of Mexico Oil Fire

OK - so as i understand it (and i'm not that clever so any corrections will be most welcome) an oilfield being worked by a publicly owned company has been in negotiations with a private consortium for the rights to manage the feild. Mexico's government has shown increasing reluctance to allow this consortium to take over the oilfield. And now it has demonstrated a dramatic, horrifying and very public fail. I smell bullshit but don't have enough knowledge to break it down.
Can anyone out there?