Britain should act to bring BP's battering by US authorities to a close

Indeed I have heard of those disastors. They were all horrible. But perhaps this will help you wil perspective. The combined spillage from those 3 disastors was just under 3.5 million barrels. The estimates for the BP spill in the gulf vary between 17 million barrels and 36 million barrels. For the sake of argument, let's split the difference and call it 26.5 million barrels.

That means the BP spill in the gulf release over 7.5 times as much oil as the three wrecks you listed combined. And to quote Wiki concerning the Mt Haven spill of 1 million barrels "It broke in two and sank after burning for three days, and for the next 12 years the Mediterranean coast of Italy and France was polluted, especially around Genoa and southern France."

So if 1 million barrels caused 12 years of pollution, what do you suppose 26.5 million barrels did?

Now you are just making up shit, the most objective estimates I have seen are around 4.9 million barrels not 17 to 36 million barrels. I would also point out that the vast majority of that oil evaporated, was dispersed or sucked up by dredgers, very little ended up onshore. By contrast, practically the entire contents of the Amoco Cadiz, over 1.6 million barrels, ended up on French beaches and the usual suspects talked of an ecological nightmare which never came to pass.
 
Many people think lots of things. Tht does not change what is right.

They aslo think that Americans are the most appalling hypocrites who only give a shit when it happens on their native shores, totally ignoring the true environmental disasters caused by US multinationals all over the planet.
 
Now you are just making up shit, the most objective estimates I have seen are around 4.9 million barrels not 17 to 36 million barrels. I would also point out that the vast majority of that oil evaporated, was dispersed or sucked up by dredgers, very little ended up onshore. By contrast, practically the entire contents of the Amoco Cadiz, over 1.6 million barrels, ended up on French beaches and the usual suspects talked of an ecological nightmare which never came to pass.

My apologies, I misread the 17 to 36 million gallons as barrels. I stand corrected.

But quibbling over volume on the largest oil spill in history does not change the facts. And 4.9 million barrels still dwarfs the combined spills of the 3 wrecks you mentioned.
 
They aslo think that Americans are the most appalling hypocrites who only give a shit when it happens on their native shores, totally ignoring the true environmental disasters caused by US multinationals all over the planet.

And you, by virtue of your defense of BP, are not doing the exact same thing? lol Too funny to be called a hypocrite when you are defending the perpetrators of the worst oil spill in history, especially since there has been ample evidence that BP's lack of control was the root cause of the entire nightmare.

Hello kettle, I'm a pot and you are black.
 
Do you know my stance on offshore drilling? And more to the point, do you know my stance on deep water drilling?

But the main reason for my anger at BP is because of the lack of control over thier drilling and their callous attitude towards safety and environmental issues. The fact that they made a $25.7 billion profit the next year and yet whine about the fines shows this clearly.

Yes, the nature of the work is hazardous. But they should do everything in their power to mitigate those hazards instead of ignoring them.

That oil rig was operated by Transocean who had an exemplary safety record up to April 2010, so why does BP get all the flak and Transocean none?
 
And you, by virtue of your defense of BP, are not doing the exact same thing? lol Too funny to be called a hypocrite when you are defending the perpetrators of the worst oil spill in history, especially since there has been ample evidence that BP's lack of control was the root cause of the entire nightmare.

Hello kettle, I'm a pot and you are black.

I have never said that they didn't deserve to be blamed as indeed that article in the OP also makes clear. What pisses me off the most is the way US companies have evaded their responsibilities the world over whereas BP coughed up straight away. If that had been Exxon they would still be arguing about it for the next ten years as per the Exxon Valdez. You also haven't explained why, if the whole setup was so dodgy, the Deepwater Horizon kept getting safety awards?
 
That oil rig was operated by Transocean who had an exemplary safety record up to April 2010, so why does BP get all the flak and Transocean none?

BP owned the rig and is responsible for it. Transocean was required to operate it as BP dictated.

From:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/transocean-gulf-oil-spill-bp_n_1235261.html

"Under a drilling contract, BP and Transocean agreed to indemnify each other in the case of an accident, with BP taking responsibility for pollution originating from the well and Transocean for any pollution or accidents aboard the rig."


From: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0...blast-BP-report-on-cause-of-blowout-oil-spill

"Among BP's cost-saving moves that Transocean said compromised safety are the following:

BP opted for a single long run of pipe rather than an alternative approach that would have increased the barriers to gas flow.
BP failed to conduct a "cement bond log" test to evaluate the integrity of the cement at the bottom of the well, which was what blocked gas and oil from emerging up the production pipe.
BP installed fewer than one-third of the recommended number of centralizer devices, which Transocean said had the effect of "dramatically increasing the risk of cement channeling and gas flow."
Halliburton, for its part, said BP officials were in charge and signed off on every step of its work as it pumped concrete to the bottom of the well to block the emergence of oil and gas."
 
And you, by virtue of your defense of BP, are not doing the exact same thing? lol Too funny to be called a hypocrite when you are defending the perpetrators of the worst oil spill in history, especially since there has been ample evidence that BP's lack of control was the root cause of the entire nightmare.

Hello kettle, I'm a pot and you are black.

Oh and by the way, it wasn't the biggest oil spill in history the Persian Gulf in 1991 has that dubious honour.
 
I have never said that they didn't deserve to be blamed as indeed that article in the OP also makes clear. What pisses me off the most is the way US companies have evaded their responsibilities the world over whereas BP coughed up straight away. If that had been Exxon they would still be arguing about it for the next ten years as per the Exxon Valdez. You also haven't explained why, if the whole setup was so dodgy, the Deepwater Horizon kept getting safety awards?


I guess they bought them or had different standards on the rig in the gulf.

From:http://investments-and-acquisitions.com/safety-violations-implicated-in-bp-oil-spill/

"Federal hearings last week revealed a number of safety violations that may have contributed to the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion. It appears that the maintenance and safety equipment on board the oilrig were out of date. Electronics technician, Michael Williams, testified that the emergency alarms were disabled several weeks prior to the explosion, which resulted in the death of eleven employees and an oil spill of more than 4 million barrels into the Gulf."


As for BP having such a great safety record, you might want to check sources other than BP's web site.

From: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/bps-dismal-safety-record/story?id=10763042

"As the nation comes to grips with the worst oil disaster in its history, there is evidence BP has one of the worst safety track records of any major oil company operating in the United States.

In two separate disasters prior to the Gulf oil rig explosion, 30 BP workers have been killed, and more than 200 seriously injured.

In the last five years, investigators found, BP has admitted to breaking U.S. environmental and safety laws and committing outright fraud. BP paid $373 million in fines to avoid prosecution."
 
BP owned the rig and is responsible for it. Transocean was required to operate it as BP dictated.

From:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/transocean-gulf-oil-spill-bp_n_1235261.html

"Under a drilling contract, BP and Transocean agreed to indemnify each other in the case of an accident, with BP taking responsibility for pollution originating from the well and Transocean for any pollution or accidents aboard the rig."


From: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0...blast-BP-report-on-cause-of-blowout-oil-spill

"Among BP's cost-saving moves that Transocean said compromised safety are the following:

BP opted for a single long run of pipe rather than an alternative approach that would have increased the barriers to gas flow.
BP failed to conduct a "cement bond log" test to evaluate the integrity of the cement at the bottom of the well, which was what blocked gas and oil from emerging up the production pipe.
BP installed fewer than one-third of the recommended number of centralizer devices, which Transocean said had the effect of "dramatically increasing the risk of cement channeling and gas flow."
Halliburton, for its part, said BP officials were in charge and signed off on every step of its work as it pumped concrete to the bottom of the well to block the emergence of oil and gas."

I have never accepted that bullshit, how an operator can pass the buck on health and safety like that is beyond me? Are you seriously telling me that Transocean would just stand back and allow unsafe operations without saying something about it, especially considering their exemplary safety record? I wil also point out that both Cameron, for the blowout preventer, and Halliburton, for the dodgy cement work, already have paid compensation to BP, whereas Transocean steadfastly refuses to cough up.
 
I guess they bought them or had different standards on the rig in the gulf.

From:http://investments-and-acquisitions.com/safety-violations-implicated-in-bp-oil-spill/

"Federal hearings last week revealed a number of safety violations that may have contributed to the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion. It appears that the maintenance and safety equipment on board the oilrig were out of date. Electronics technician, Michael Williams, testified that the emergency alarms were disabled several weeks prior to the explosion, which resulted in the death of eleven employees and an oil spill of more than 4 million barrels into the Gulf."


As for BP having such a great safety record, you might want to check sources other than BP's web site.

From: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/bps-dismal-safety-record/story?id=10763042

"As the nation comes to grips with the worst oil disaster in its history, there is evidence BP has one of the worst safety track records of any major oil company operating in the United States.

In two separate disasters prior to the Gulf oil rig explosion, 30 BP workers have been killed, and more than 200 seriously injured.

In the last five years, investigators found, BP has admitted to breaking U.S. environmental and safety laws and committing outright fraud. BP paid $373 million in fines to avoid prosecution."

I wasn't talking about BPs safety record, I was referring to Transocean.
 
I have never said that they didn't deserve to be blamed as indeed that article in the OP also makes clear. What pisses me off the most is the way US companies have evaded their responsibilities the world over whereas BP coughed up straight away. If that had been Exxon they would still be arguing about it for the next ten years as per the Exxon Valdez. You also haven't explained why, if the whole setup was so dodgy, the Deepwater Horizon kept getting safety awards?

BP has a long record of "coughing up" payment in order to evade prosecution. A simple look at the amount in fines for the disastor when compared to the profits by BP shows they know its cheaper to pay the fines than to be concerned about damages, deaths, injuries or environmental issues.
 
I have never accepted that bullshit, how an operator can pass the buck on health and safety like that is beyond me? Are you seriously telling me that Transocean would just stand back and allow unsafe operations without saying something about it, especially considering their exemplary safety record? I wil also point out that both Cameron, for the blowout preventer, and Halliburton, for the dodgy cement work, already have paid compensation to BP, whereas Transocean steadfastly refuses to cough up.

The rig is BP's responsibility. I have worked in the utility construction industry for decades, and I assure you that we are involved in every step of the process.

BP hired Transocean to do the work and is responsible for what they do. Many issues listed are design issues. That would be BP's area.
 
BP has a long record of "coughing up" payment in order to evade prosecution. A simple look at the amount in fines for the disastor when compared to the profits by BP shows they know its cheaper to pay the fines than to be concerned about damages, deaths, injuries or environmental issues.

I pointed out that Transocean had an exemplary safety record, so you steadfastly ignored that and listed a number of items about the Deepwater Horizon that were safety violations and then tried to say that was BPs fault. Transocean operates rigs all over the world yet we are asked to believe that there are so incompetent that without BP there are incapable of running a safe environment.
 
I pointed out that Transocean had an exemplary safety record, so you steadfastly ignored that and listed a number of items about the Deepwater Horizon that were safety violations and then tried to say that was BPs fault. Transocean operates rigs all over the world yet we are asked to believe that there are so incompetent that without BP there are incapable of running a safe environment.

If Transocean runs safe rigs all over the world, and BP has a "dismal safety record", who would you think is responsible for the safety issues shown on their joint venture???

BP was in charge of the rig. If major shortcuts were taken they were either approved by or ordered by BP.
 
The rig is BP's responsibility. I have worked in the utility construction industry for decades, and I assure you that we are involved in every step of the process.

BP hired Transocean to do the work and is responsible for what they do. Many issues listed are design issues. That would be BP's area.

BP leased the rig from Transocean, who were the ultimate owners and operators. If I hire a car from someone the hirer is 100% responsible for the maintenance and safety of the vehicle.
 
BP leased the rig from Transocean, who were the ultimate owners and operators. If I hire a car from someone the hirer is 100% responsible for the maintenance and safety of the vehicle.

It was not the physical issue of the rig that caused the spill. It was the shortcuts by BP which did that.
 
It was not the physical issue of the rig that caused the spill. It was the shortcuts by BP which did that.

If the blowout preventer had operated correctly, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I would also point out that an almost exact rerun of Deepwater occurred in the Niger Delta in January this year, that was a Chevron rig by the way. The amount of oil spilt in the Niger Delta over the years dwarves the Gulf by a factor of at least a hundred times yet not a word is said about that.
 
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