THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XII, Issue # 104, June 19, 2010
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
BRITISH PETROLEUM & THE UNMITIGATED DISASTER
By Alan Caruber
BRITISH PETROLEUM, THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION, THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL, & THE CAUSE OF THE
UNMITIGATED DISASTER: BP'S EMPHASIS UPON RISKS & CUTTING CORNERS -- ITS HISTORY OF SAFETY VIOLATIONS
-- ITS INTERNAL PHILOSOPHY FOCUSING ON PROFITS BEFORE SAFETY -- THE COMPANY'S FAILURE TO INVEST IN THE KIND OF
ENGINEERING & INSPECTION OF RIG CONSTRUCTION THAT MIGHT HAVE PREVENTED THE EXPLOSION ON THE DEEPWATER
HORIZON -- THE DISASTER & ITS CONSEQUENCES AS A BP PROBLEM, NOT SOMETHING FOR WHICH THE ENTIRE OIL
INDUSTRY SHOULD BE BLAMED OR A VALID REASON FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO IMPOSE BANS ON OFFSHORE OIL
DRILLING
FULL STORY:
The Gulf of Mexico could turn into a giant dead zone, if some means cannot be found to staunch the flow of oil and toxic
gases emerging from the damaged well beneath the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Industry insiders who understand the
engineering of wells are beginning to speak openly among themselves of an unmitigated disaster.
It is essential to understand that the oil business is like no other. Oil companies that drill too many dry holes go out of
business. Oil is too often in places run by despots and gangsters that would make Hollywood villains seem tame by
comparison. Oil companies must deal with them, even at the risk they will renege on their promises; something they do a
lot.
The oil business depends on technology that attempts to give geologists an idea of what is hidden way below the
surface of the land or water. It often means having to team up with your competitors to finance an operation such as
building a pipeline so both can move their crude oil to refineries.
Beyond that, oil companies do not set the price of oil. OPEC does not set the price of oil. Traders do that and they do it
24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can lose money by not having enough oil and you can lose money from having
too much oil that has to be stored until the price improves.
With the exception of a tanker spill in the 1980s, among the major oil companies, ExxonMobil has an extraordinary record
of safety. Its company ethos is such that decisions are made only after serious consideration and its emphasis has
always been on managing to achieve the best results with the least amount of risk, primarily by paying attention to good
practices. Its management is not flashy and does not seek the spotlight.
In contrast, British Petroleum has always been about risk and about cutting corners. Prior to CEO Tony Hayward, who
was pushed aside by its Board of Directors, after two months of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time during the
Deepwater Horizon disaster, BP was largely a reflection of John Browne, an egotist who was driven to build the company
through mergers and buy-outs. His interest in the engineering and technological aspects of the business was minimal.
As Tom Bowers, the author of Oil: Money, Politics, and Power in the 21st. Century, put it, Browne’s “mantra of
‘more for less’ to boost BP’s share price was a poisoned chalice.”
The result was that BP routinely paid multi-million dollar fines for breaking U.S. environmental and safety laws, including
admitting to outright fraud. No other oil company has a comparable record of safety violations. In two separate incidents
prior to the Gulf oil rig explosion, 30 BP workers had been killed and more than 200 were seriously injured.
By skimping on safety, a Texas City refinery explosion not only dealt a blow to BP’s reputation, but the estimated
minimum cost in lost profits and compensation was calculated to be $4 billion. BP had decided to save money by not
insuring the facility against the possibility of such an accident. By extension, it increased the public’s distrust of the oil
industry.
In an article about its safety record, it was noted that Occupational Safety and Health Administration statistics showed
that BP “ran up 760 ‘egregious, willful’ safety violations,” while Sunoco and Conoco-Phillips each had eight, Citgo had
two and ExxonMobil had only one such citation.
Oil companies run their own trading operations and BP ran afoul of the law when it conspired to manipulate the propane
gas market, ripping off $53 million from consumers who depended on it to heat their homes.
BP, through its lobbyists and corporate representatives, worked to influence the U.S. Congress and reportedly played
“a major role in drafting the Kerry-Lieberman bill,” the Cap-and-Trade Act currently waiting for a vote in the Senate. It is
based on blatantly false "global warming science" and is a tax on energy use.
Under the leadership of John Browne, BP, more than any other oil company, actively sought to re-brand itself from being
an oil company to being an advocate for the environment, using an advertising motto, “Beyond petroleum” and
supporting the fraudulent “global warming” hoax. With Browne at the helm, he promised that BP would invest $1 billion
in solar energy by 2010 and invest $8 billion in alternative energies over ten years.
It did not, apparently, invest in the kind of engineering and inspection of rig construction that might have prevented the
explosion on the Deepwater Horizon. The event and previous explosions at its refineries were the result of years of an
internal BP philosophy that focused on profits before safety. Whether it was accident prone refineries or corrosion in the
Alaska pipeline, BP cut corners.
Even when Browne reached the mandatory retirement age of 60 in 2008, he did everything in his power to avoid it. He had
run out of support in the company he had built through his quest to be among the largest, if not the largest, oil company
in the world. By then, however, it was too late to save BP from what, in hindsight, was an inevitable disaster.
Suffice it to say that everything that could go wrong following the Deepwater Horizon explosion has gone wrong. The oil
industry has never been faced with an engineering failure of this magnitude.
For the creatures of the Gulf, it is an ecological disaster of biblical proportions. For the coastal states affected, it is an
economic disaster that will rapidly eat through the $20 billion BP has pledged to set aside for remediation over the next
five years. The losses to the nation as a whole are probably incalculable at this point.
Industry insiders believe that neither BP, nor the Obama administration, are telling the public the truth, nor the full
ramifications of what will occur if the blowout preventer, all 450 tons of it, literally tips over deep below the waters of the
Gulf.
“It won’t be long after that the entire system fails,” predicted a writer in Oil Drum.com.
“BP must be aware of this. They are mapping the
sea floor sonically and that is not a mere exercise.
Our government must be aware too, but they are
just not telling us.”
It is essential to keep in mind that this is a BP problem. It is not something for which the entire oil industry should be
blamed. America runs on oil and, if the politicians will just get out of the way, we shall have it.
© Alan Caruba, 2010
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
Alan Caruba writes a daily post at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com. An author, commentator and business and science writer,
he is the Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a clearinghouse for information about "scare campaigns" designed to influence
public opinion and public policy.
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity