After BP report, others point safety finger back at oil company
September 10, 2010 by Fred HosierPosted in: BP, Chemical safety, Fatality, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Safety vs. production, What do you think?, cost of safety
Earlier this week, BP released its report on the causes of the April 20 explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 workers and spilled an estimated 206 million gallons of oil into the ocean. In some quarters, the reaction to BP’s report has been anything but positive.
BP’s report lists eight key findings that led to the explosion.
Among the findings, BP says its engineers and employees of Transocean, the rig owner, misinterpreted a pressure test of the well’s integrity. It also blames employees from both companies for failing to respond to warning signs that the well was in danger of blowing out.
Those are just some of the specifics. But others are taking a big-picture look at the situation, specifically, whether BP’s overall corporate culture was a leading cause.
The report “regrettably does not address the corporate culture at BP that shortchanged safety,” said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
A statement from Transocean said, “BP made a series of cost-saving decisions that increased risk.”
So the finger points once again to the idea that BP cut corners with safety at Deepwater Horizon to save money.
Legal experts speculate part of BP’s reason for releasing an early report on the disaster is to spread blame among itself, Transocean and cement contractor Halliburton as BP faces hundreds of lawsuits and possible criminal charges over the spill.
When it can be shown that a company purposefully cut corners on safety to save money, and a disaster results, how should the company be held accountable? Let us know what you think in the Comments Box below.
SafetyNewsAlert.com delivers the latest Safety news once a week to the inboxes of over 270,000 Safety professionals.
Click here to sign up and start your FREE subscription to SafetyNewsAlert!
Tags: BP report, Deepwater Horizon, Halliburton, rig explosion, Transocean
Loading ...
September 15th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
Heck yeah! They should be held accountable!
September 15th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
If it is proven that they cut corners on saftey then the company should be 100% accountable and criminal action looked into. This could and should have been prevented.
September 16th, 2010 at 7:47 am
If this was their first issue with OSHA I would have some sympathy, but their neglect to fix the Texas City violations and resultant “Failure to Abate” Citation shows they don’t care about worker safety very much. They should be held accountable.
September 21st, 2010 at 2:03 pm
My guess is that BP will be forced out of business because of their recent disaster in the gulf. They will come back to life under a new name.
September 21st, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Risk-sharing so that all players understand the level of buy-in and the expected outcomes associated with risks from each vantage point. In the event of failure, the contracts should spell out who is responsible for what and under what circumstances.
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:37 am
BP had full command and control of things up until the rig blew, then suddenly it became everyone else “shoulda, woulda, coulda” and poor BP was just the corporate victim. BP is running the game long term, keeping the public in the dark, muffling bad PR, hiding continuing Corex use, clandestine dead animal cleanups and threatening legal action against anyone coming anywhere near to provide an independent, unbaised observation and accounting. Any bets on whether Corex causes oil to become heavier than water and sink to the ocean floor? Gotta love the shrimp and crabs from the Gulf!!