So finally we get a bit of humility and contrition from Tony Hayward, ex-CEO of BP. Speaking for the first time since he resigned, Hayward has admitted that the Deepwater Horizon accident was BP’s fault, that he made mistakes and that BP was woefully unprepared for a disaster on this scale. So compare what Tony … Read More
BP
The Game Remains the Same
In the days after the BP oil spill, many environmentalists argued that the spill would be a “game-changer”, that it would facilitate the transition to a clean energy future. But any new legislation that might have been introduced after the spill that placed stricter regulations on offshore drilling is not likely to come into force, … Read More
BP Disaster Adds to Oil Major “Identity Crisis”
Its not a new concept that the oil majors are struggling to come up with new reserves, but its not often that it is written in black and white. Well pink, actually. Today’s Financial Times has one of its special reports on Energy. It combines two of the recurring themes I have written about on … Read More
Despite The Bad Cement Job, Still Blame BP
This is a fight that is going to get ugly. Just as earlier in the year, we learnt a new language about top kills, and blow out preventers, anyone who is following the fall-out from the Deepwater Horizon disaster now has to become an expert in the consistency of cement. In the wake of new … Read More
BP: Stilling Passing Blame
Out with the old. In with the new. When BP ceremoniously dumped bumbling gaffe-prone Tony Hayward after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and ushered in smooth-talking Bob Dudley, it was meant to herald a new era in the troubled giant’s history. But the disaster still wrangles BP badly. And it is no surprise therefore that … Read More
BP and Others Accused of “Climate Sabotage”
We know that the Koch brothers fund climate change deniers. But now a great new report by Climate Action Network Europe (CAN-E) has analysed new data to track where dirty money is going in American politics. They have found nearly 80% of campaign donations – some $240,000 – from some of Europe’s biggest polluters is … Read More
Safety Versus the Bottom Line
Slowly but surely BP is trying to rebuild its battered image and rebuild the way it does business. Part of that process is rebuilding its internal processes and values and the way it rewards success. In an innovative move, the company has announced that performance to be judged solely on improving safety in the fourth … Read More
After a Pause for Breath, Let’s Drill Baby…
It was always a matter of time before the Obama Administration buckled under the intense pressure of the oil industry and Gulf States and let drilling resume in the Gulf. Weeks earlier than expected, the administration lifted the moratorium on deep-water drilling, that was put in place in the aftermath of the Deepwater disaster. “We … Read More
Spill panel slams White House; warns over Arctic drilling
Back at the height of the BP oil spill, President Obama asked a commission to find out “what worked and didn’t” in the government’s response to the disaster. Well the bad news for Obama is that much didn’t work, making grim reading for the President and forcing the White House to hit back at some … Read More
“Deep-water drilling will continue because that’s where the oil is..”
The Washington Post this morning asks a fundamental question that has been played out in countless meetings of oil companies, government officials and environmental NGOs: “Will the oil spill make a drop of difference regarding our attitudes?” Some five months later, was the spill a game changer like many predicted? And the results seem to … Read More