A co-chair of the presidential commission that investigated the BP oil spill will speak at Duke later this month.

William K. Reilly, co-chair of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, will discuss his group's 380-page report Monday, Jan. 24.

His talk starts at 5 p.m. in the RJ Reynolds Theater in Duke's Bryan Center. It is free and open to the public, but tickets are required and can be reserved on the box office website, http://tickets.duke.edu, or by calling 919-684-4444.

Released last week, the commission’s massive report calls for Congress to approve new regulations for offshore drilling as well as funding for an agency to oversee these rules -- recommendations that Reilly will share with Congress the day after his visit to Duke.

“Our investigation shows that a series of specific and preventable human and engineering failures were the immediate causes of the disaster,” Reilly said in a recent press conference covering the report’s findings. “But, in fact, this disaster was almost the inevitable result of years of industry and government complacency and lack of attention to safety. As drilling pushes into ever deeper and riskier waters where more of America’s oil lies, only systemic reforms of both government and industry will prevent a similar, future disaster.”

A reception will follow Reilly's talk.