We know that BP was to blame for the Deepwater Horizon. So too was Transocean and Halliburton. So too was the failed regulatory regime, which was tasked with maximising revenues for drilling at the same time as being responsible for oversight of the operations. You can’t do both, and that is the reason that former … Read More
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Preventing Another “National Scandal”
We already know that the official Commission into the Deepwater disaster criticised BP for systematic management failures. But the Commission is set to criticise the Obama administration later today when the full and final report is launched at the National Press Club. It will argue that the Administration has not gone far enough to reform … Read More
A New Year: A New Spill
Who would be a BP shareholder? Last week the company’s shares surged on the fact that the National Commission into the Deepwater disaster had not provided clear evidence of BP’s “gross negligence” into the spill. It could have been construed that the New Year was the beginning of a new chapter in the company’s ragged … Read More
Oil and Coal-Backed Politicians Attack the EPA
It is widely accepted that people give money to politicians to curry favour and buy influence. So there will be no surprises that there are smug smiles on the faces of the oil and coal barons this week as the people they pay, the Republicans, begin their assault on climate legislation and environmental protection. As … Read More
“A Failure of Management”
When ex-BP boss, Tony Hayward said last year that “This was not our accident … This was not our drilling rig. This was not our equipment. It was not our people, our systems or our processes,” you know that history would prove him to be wrong. This was BP’s accident. Today, the Official Report into … Read More
Oil Industry Targets New Congress
It may be a new year, but its an old message. Anyone travelling to the Capital South station on the Washington Metro could hardly fail to notice the latest advertising blitz by the oil industry’s attack dogs the American Petroleum Institute (API). The ad campaign is called “I’m One” and includes images of “real people” … Read More
Now Fracking Starts In Britain
Despite the ongoing serious concerns about pollution from hydraulic fracturing or fracking in the US, the technology is set to be used in the UK too. Such is the concern in the US that the state of New York has issued a moratorium on the practice. The US Environmental Protection Agency is also currently undertaking … Read More
The “Great Oil Thief”
The brutal reality of the resource curse in Africa is once again laid bare. The latest revelations from Wikileaks is that the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has siphoned $9bn in oil money and deposited it in foreign accounts, many of which are in London. Whilst the rest of the country languishes in brutal poverty, the … Read More
Another $20 Billion Bill for BP
Shares in BP are falling this morning – 3 per cent in early trading so far – on the news that it could face penalties of $21 billion-plus if found fully liable for damages in a US federal lawsuit regarding the Deepwater Horizon drilling disaster. But BP is not alone. The US Department of Justice … Read More
Deepwater’s Forgotten Villain
When you think of the Deepwater disaster earlier this year, of course the main company responsible for the spill that springs to mind is BP, the operator of the rig. The next villain in the story is Transocean, the owner of the rig. One name that does not automatically jump out is Anadarko, the minority … Read More