David Cameron’s government is now said to be preparing for the worst: that BP will collapse and be broken up. One way that could be avoided is if key investors buy large chunks of the stricken oil giant. But one option might be just as unpalatable to the British as BP being broken up: the … Read More
oil spills
Will BP’s Partners Cough up $400 Million?
As the clean-up cost for BP’s spill surpasses $3 billion, BP has demanded that its partners to pay about thirteen per cent of the costs so far or $400m. The demands were sent to Deepwater Horizon partners Anadarko – that owns 25 per cent of the well – and Japan’s Mitsui Oil Exploration that owns … Read More
From One Gulf to Another
Five years ago, I co-authored a book called “The Next Gulf- London, Washington and Oil Conflict in Nigeria”, that – as the title suggested – looked at the interlinked nature of oil politics from America, the UK and West Africa. In part the book details the grievances of the people of the Niger Delta – … Read More
BP’s Future Now Depends on Iraq
It is no coincidence that on “Tony’s Tour to Rebuild BP’s Battered Reputation”, its CEO Tony Hayward will visit China next week. BP may be getting a kicking in America, but China and Russia remain central to its plans. BP’s embattled chief executive has already met Igor Sechin, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, in Moscow on … Read More
BP: Ignoring the Lessons from History
When BP’s leak is finally plugged and the forensic examination begins into the disastrous events leading up to the spill, it should also examine the catastrophic events since the spill: and one of those will be the use of dispersants. The use of dispersants has been heavily criticised on this blog and well as by … Read More
BP’s Long Term Business Strategy in Chaos..
A BP presentation to investors from March 2010 – a month before Deepwater – is doing the rounds on the net after being picked up by Propublica. In fact the presentation to analysts is on BP’s own website. The presentation shows how so much has changed for BP since the disaster – and if nothing … Read More
“A major serial environmental criminal” who hides the evidence
We all know that criminals like to cover their tracks. And BP is no different. On Saturday, the Anchorage Daily News – a paper that has battled BP in Alaska for a number of years a recently retired federal attorney who spent years dogging BP Exploration (Alaska). Jeanne Pascal, who worked 18 years as a … Read More
Industry Steps Up Pro-Offshore Drilling Campaign
To pardon the pun, but the tide is turning. Soon everything could be back to normal. There is an aggressive lobbying campaign by the oil industry to overturn Obama’s offshore drilling moratorium, despite the fact that opposition of offshore drilling continues to rise. Part of the industry campaign is to argue that support for offshore … Read More
“A Global Laughing Stock”
The Washington Post leads this morning on how the critical players in the Gulf disaster are all hiring public relations consultants like they are going out of fashion to try and repair their battered and bruised images. BP, according to the paper, “has assembled a formidable team of Democrats for its Washington lobbying and public-relations … Read More
From Humpty Dumpty, to Mr Bean to Mr Has-Been..
Did we get any real answers from Tony Hayward yesterday when he appeared before an influential Congressional cmmittee? No Did we get the truth from Hayward, currently depicted as the most hated man in America? No All we got from Tony Hayward was stone-walling, evasion and a deadpan panto of going through the motions.