BP Oil Spill Crisis Essay

BP Oil Spill Crisis Essay
BP Oil Spill Crisis
The Deepwater Horizon was a nine year old, ultra–deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi–submersible, offshore drilling rig built in South Korea. In
2008, British Petroleum (BP) leased it from Transocean to drill for oil in the Gulf Coast. In September 2009, the rig drilled the deepest oil well in
history at a depth of 35,055–feet. On April 20, 2010 while drilling the rig exploded at 9:45PM (CST), killing eleven workers and injuring seventeen
others. It was caused when methane gas from the well shot all the way up and out of the drill column, expanded onto the platform then ignited and
exploded. The explosion then led the rig to burn, with the resulting fire unable to be extinguished 2 days later it sinked leaving...show more content...
This disaster of the BP oil spill has caused many deaths: 64 mammals, 2,919 birds, and 489 sea turtles according to National Wildlife Federation and
these numbers are going to continue to rise year after year till all the oil is cleaned up. Also, the Gulf is home to endangered species. Kemp's ridley
sea turtles are currently listed as endangered, and could go to threatened in the next couple years. Another example is the Bluefin Tuna which is labeled
as endangered and could send them to extinction due to the massive oil spill. This is one dire effect that is hurting our ecosystem, and this same
instance happened in Alaska with the Exxon Valdez oil spill. A great example of how gruesome the oil has taken on wildlife, look at Fig. B where a
there is an oil–soaked pelican. I believe the world should change its main source of oil to a different less destructing fuel.
Another effect from the BP oil spill it's jeopardizing the Gulf's billion–dollar fishing and shrimping industry. With the Gulf accounting for 40–percent
of North Americans seafood, it is the second largest seafood producing area after Alaska, and it's effecting incomes for thousands. The high loss of
seafood is going to change the way many people eat and increase prices because of the shortages. Also, many small fishers have filed for bankruptcy
causing high stress. Captain William Allen–Kruse was so depressed with the loss of business he shot and killed himself after
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Bp Oil Spill Analysis Essay
I. INTRODUCTION
1. Scope of Research
The spectrums of oil spill issues are diverse and large. They range from environmental issue to economic, ecological, ethical, politics and policies.
Among many other oil spills, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, occurred on April 20, 2010 was recorded as the greatest environmental disaster in
our history (BP leak the world's worst accidental oil spill, 2010).
The goal of our research is to seek possible solutions to reduce the risks of offshore oil spills. To attain this goal, we gathered information from over
twenty sources, including "Deepwater Horizon oil" from Wikipedia research and an article from the LA Times.
Our research focused mainly on four aspects of the BP oil spill,...show more content...
In 1999, BP was fined $1.7 million for burning polluted gases at its Ohio refinery. In the following year, the company was charged $10 million by the
EPA for the air pollution from its U.S. refineries (Beder, 2002).
BP has also been accused of violating human rights. In 2005, one of BP's refineries in Texas exploded, caused 15 deaths and 180 injuries. The
explosion was largely a result of safety cuts to reduce costs (Baker et al., 2007). From 2006 to 2008, three workers were killed at BP's Texas refinery
due to equipment failure (Collette, 2008).
II. PROBLEM ANALYSIS
1. Environmental Problems
Environmental Impact
On April 20, 2010, one of BP's drilling wells below the Gulf of Mexico exploded and caused a disastrous oil spill. Thousands of barrels of crude oil

flowed into the gulf every day, causing widespread pollution in the Gulf of Mexico (Law Brain, n.d). The habitats of many bird species are threatened
by this oil spill.
The American Bird Conservancy (ABC) listed the top ten most polluted areas from the oil spill: 1. Gulf Coast Least Tern Colony, 2. Lower
Pascagoula River, 3. Gulf Islands National Seashore, 4. Breton National Wildlife Refuge, 5. Dauphin Island, 6. Fort Morgan Historical Park, 7. Bon
Secour National Wildlife Refuge, 8. Eglin Air Force Base, 9. Delta National Wildlife Refuge, and 10. Baptiste

Bp Oil Spill
BP OIL SPILL Under the Deepwater Horizon, an offshore drilling ring of British Petroleum (BP) caused an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The
incident occurred on April 20th 2010, where equipment failed and caused the explosion sinking the ring, and causing the death of 11 workers and
more than 17 workers injured. The British based energy company also faced other problems at the site of the oil spill. More than 40 million
gallons (estimated data) of oil spewed into the Gulf of Mexico. Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a very serious threat for the wildlife as it causes water
pollution. The oil spill effected many coastal areas in the US, like the Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. The oil spill disaster strongly
damaged...show more content...
It is not safe to cut corners and presume that things will not happen. Make ethical decision, have back up plans, and 'worst case scenario'
preparation. If BP would be more ethical and do the right things either by using the latest safety precautions when drilling (not cutting corners, and
reducing costs), and moving faster and more dynamically when the disaster occurred, they could have avoided billions in cleanup and damages that
they faced and are still facing now. The BP oil spill has offered a moment for reflection for leaders around the world about their most basic beliefs.
To many people, the BP oil spill has brought home the idea that future corporate leaders must develop personal ethical standards for making decisions
that go beyond just a financial calculation. There are plenty of business practices that are legal, but fall short in being ethical. But I believe being
ethical does pay off, slowly and steadily. You may lose some opportunities, but your reputation and self
–perception is

BP Oil Spills
Oil Spills
BP is one of the largest company producers in both oil and natural gas in the United States, venturing on exploration and discovery, Deepwater drilling
and gas supply chains. On April 20, 2010, 11 men lost their lives after an explosion in the semi–submersible drilling on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig
working on the Macondo exploration well for BP in the Gulf of Mexico. The well blowout and subsequent oil spill pumped 3.2 million barrels in the
Gulf of Mexico the biggest marine disaster in US history. The fire burned for 36 hours before the rig sank, and the hydrocarbons leaked into the Gulf
of Mexico before the well was closed and sealed. After the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a sea–floor oil gusher flowed for 87
days, until it was capped on July 15th 2010....show more content...
The cause was said to be due to a well integrity failure, and a loss of hydrostatic control of the well. Failure to control the flow from the well with
the blowout preventer, balance of plant equipment, which allowed the release and subsequent ignition of hydrocarbons, the balance of plant
emergency functions failed to seal the well after the initial explosion. A report led by BP stated the well integrity had not been established, but a
particular cement slurry used at the bottom of the Macondo well failed to contain hydrocarbons within the reservoir, as they were designed to have
which allowed the gas and liquids to flow up the production casing. The rig crew failed to recognize the influx of hydrocarbons into the well, causing
the gas to be vented directly on to the rig rather than being diverted overboard. The flow of gas into the engine

BP Oil Spill
THe tragic oil spill involving the BP/Transocean drilling rig Deepwater Horizon has caused enormous and unwarranted damages in the Gulf of Mexico,
and on life; thousands, if not millions, of people, organizations, and animals face ruination. My thoughts are that, there is no doubt that BP is
accountable not just for its disregard of safety measures that could have kept the spill from happening, additionally for the inept, shrouded, coercive,
and belligerent manner in which it handled the spill's consequence. Milton argued for a direct type of capitalism enterprise and against any action that
distorts economic freedom.2 Socially mindful activities executed by a firm are, as indicated by Friedman, hindering economic freedom on the grounds

Bp Oil Spill
Disaster in the Gulf: One Year Later Business Policy & Strategy (MAN 4764–1) Everest University Presented to: Professor Melissa Sweeney
Presented by: Burl Hicks April 18, 2014 Disaster in the Gulf: One Year Later 1. What external environment (general, industry, and competitive)
segments do you think BP considered or didn't consider prior to their drilling of the Gulf Coast? What should the wedding business owners now
consider in their external environment? BP decided to drill in the Gulf Coast mostly because of the oil availability and competition. Opportunity was
definitely considered by BP. The North Sea was saturated with other oil companies and BP saw an opportunity in the Gulf of Mexico (Pour, 2011).
The segment...show more content...
The oil industry is heavily regulated by the US government, and competition is fierce. BP skipped certain safety measures for concern of
increasing cost of operations, and this led to the spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The company should have invested more in maintaining the oil rig and
making sure there would be no mechanical or technical failure. They failed to do so and prevent the spill, so that damaged BP's reputation and
strained their resources even further. 3. Analyze BP using the five forces of competition model to determine the industry's current attractiveness in
terms of profit potential. There are five forces of competition: threat of new entrants, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers,
threat of substitute products, and rivalry among competing firms (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2013, p. 51). BP is an oil company, so it has a
huge advantage over most of these forces. Oil companies have history dating back to the early 20th century, so there is really no threat of new entrants.
Any business that wishes to enter the industry needs the resources and capital that only long standing companies can afford. Product differentiation
also plays a huge role, as customers come to believe products from certain manufacturers are good, and it's difficult to break through this (Hitt, Ireland,
& Hoskisson, 2013, p. 53). The company's access to distribution channels also gives it a huge advantage over new entrants. BP practices

BP Oil Spill
The Deep Horizon oil spill caused by British Petroleum (BP) changed the entire economy of the Gulf of Mexico. Approximately 5 million barrels of
oils was released from the spill caused by an explosion in the oil platform. The explosion was caused by negligence by BP. In the New York Times
article, BP Shortcuts Led to Gulf Oil Spill, Report Says, it states the central problem was with the cement at the base of the well escalating into
human and mechanical errors which led to gas to shooting up to the platform and exploding causing a fire that killed 11 people. It took about 87 days
to stop the flow of the well but the mess of the event is still affecting many people who inhabit the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and those who use the
Gulf as a...show more content...
The oil affected multiple industries that are prevalent in the Gulf that are still recovering or still facing the problem the spill caused. In 2012 it was
calculated that the economy was doing great because of the influx of people to help with the cleanup effort and the 6 billion BP gave for the spill was
more than the 700 million revenue lost from the fishing and tourism for that year but those costs do not take in count the long–term problems the spill
has had on the economy of the Gulf (Amadeo). The economy is slowly recovering since the spill but in certain industries it is still struggling to
regain its formal glory. The only solution to improve the economy is to advance cleanup efforts help get rid of the remaining effects of leftover oil
and give more money to research that studies the effect of the oil spill on the ecosystem, so we can know the full extent of the

Bp Oil Spill
Five Lessons from the BP Oil Spill
It's very easy to pile onto BP right now. The "accident," which may be due more to negligence, is bad enough. The company lost 11 employees– after
losing 15 in a high–profile explosion at a refinery 5 years ago. The damage to the Gulf, its species, and the people who depend on it is almost
incalculable. But surprisingly, it's even easier to criticize BP's behaviour since the explosion – the company has tried hard to downplay the scale of the
tragedy and it has moved slowly to stop the torrent of oil pouring into the Gulf.
The nightmare is not over and the repercussions in terms of regulations and the future of BP are far from certain. But it's high time to start sifting
through the wreckage for some...show more content...
Unfortunately, Hayward hasn't learned much in the way of media training as he told a reporter this week that he wants to end this disaster because,
"I'd like my life back." Wow.
And the response has seemed awfully slow. Why, for example, has each attempt to stop the leak been done in a serial fashion? Meaning, when the
"top kill" failed, why didn't BP have the next containment dome in position already instead of waiting a few more days? BP has been acting like a
child that doesn't want to clean up its mess and drags its feet, which is strange, given the monumental risk to the company.
Environmental risks can threaten the viability of a business. Reducing risk was the core focus of environmental efforts for many years so it got a bit
passГ© as a forward–looking argument for sustainability. But it certainly is making a comeback now. As someone who's written for years about
how going green can drive profits and growth, I've probably also downplayed the role of risk reduction in creating green value. So let me make the
very easy case for BP's poor risk management.
As of today, BP has lost over a third of market value, worth about $70 billion. Last week, The New York Times went so far as to suggest that BP could
be vulnerable to takeover once all its liabilities for this spill are accounted for.
Of course for most companies, sustainability–related, enterprise–threatening risks are not quite as tangible as miles and miles of your

BP Oil Spill Essay
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon explosion started what would be the largest marine oil spill in U.S. waters to date. By the time the well
was finally capped, nearly 5 million barrels or 205.8 million gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico (Robertson & Krauss, 2010). To put this into
some context of comparison, the New Your Times did a calculation and estimated the oil flow to be the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez every 8 to 10
days – the spill lasted 83 to 87 days depending on sources. Now for the human cost – 11 died in this "accident" (Gillis & Fountain, 2010). I find it
interesting that there is little in regards to outrage over the loss of human life as compare to the environmental impact. I am in no way downplaying
...show more content...
Waxman's (Chairman) letter to Mr. Hayward before his testimony in front of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The first area of concern
for the Committee and Chairman was a statement, five days before the explosion, by one of BP's engineers that described the Macondo well was a
"nightmare well." The Committee was also seeking answers for decisions that were made and what appeared, in the Committee's opinion, to be in
violation of industry standards, for economic gain, and were against the advice of BP's own personal that an increase in well failure could
happen. At the time of the explosion, the Macondo well was behind schedule and the Committee addressed decisions that were made that clearly
point to cost savings and expediency over safety. In particular, they addressed five areas: 1) the decision to use a well design with few barriers to
gas flow; 2) the failure to use a sufficient number of centralizers to prevent channeling during the cement process; 3) the failure to run a cement bond
log to evaluate the effectiveness of the cement job; 4) the failure to circulate potentially gas bearing drilling muds out of the well; and 5) the failure
to secure the wellhead with a lockdown sleeve before allowing pressure on the seal from below (Ingersoll, Locke & Reavis,

Bp Oil Spill Essay
On April 20, 2010, BP's oil drilling rig caught fire and sank in the Gulf of Mexico. Throughout the following months, the company attempted to
keep everyone from stockholders to environmental activists updated with their cleanup efforts. The mass amounts of oil that spilled into the Gulf
took many years to cleanup. Most of BP's updates came from press releases, along with speaking to reporters about their cleanup efforts. The idea of
writing press releases for a company allows the public to stay updated with what is going on, but can backfire in the future if the business does not
keep it's word on what they say they will do in the release of the information to the public. On April 22, 2010, BP sent out a press release. The
information included...show more content...
This goes against their press release, which claims BP, has a plan for drilling a relief well. The relief well was evidently needed, and by May, BP
was still months away from its completion. Knowing this, BP's press release from April was critiqued intensely due to the fact they did not follow
up on what they claimed they could do. The idea that press releases are informative also causes issues for the company as a whole. If BP does not
stand by what they say in the release, reporters and other individuals will lose faith in the

BP Oil Spill
Deepwater Horizon rig, which led to the deaths of 11 of the rig workers and the occurrence of the oil spill. It is documented that the two site leaders
observed warning signs that the Mocondo Well was not secured properly and that oil and gas was leaking from the well. Unfortunately, Kaluza and
Vidrine did not to take proper precautions, which is why they were charged with 11 felony counts of seaman's manslaughter, 11 felony counts of
involuntary manslaughter, and 1 violation of the Clean Water Act. If BP had a culture that included corporate social responsibility training and
education, that promoted safety before profits, these two men would not be facing life in prison. David I. Rainey, the Deputy Incident Commander and
BP's second highest–ranking...show more content...
They even went as far as setting up a $100 million fund to ensure that future research is conducted to understand and improve our knowledge of the
Gulf of Mexico. In addition, acknowledged their social responsibility for the accident and continued effort to clean up any residual oil that may occur
later on down the road. Companies can learn a lot from BP and the swift action it took in trying to rectify this issue. They were honest about the
mistake, proactive in finding a solution, and the cleanup process. However, want sets them apart is their continued effort to make sure that the Gulf
Coast recovers from the oil spill and a sign of a company that has learned from their

Essay On Bp Oil Spill
The BP oil spill on April 20, 2010 was more than barrels of oil released into the Gulf. The accident involved a gas release and an explosion that killed
11 men and injured others. Each time this oil spill is spoke of, there is a monetary cost associated with it. This disaster will have a cost associated for
decades to come. The main cost will be the loss of life and the effects it will have on the families, co–workers and friends of each man that lost his life.
BP will continue to speak of policy changes and new safety features. They will continue to promote themselves as a forward thinking company with
many great ideas for the future. The sad part is BP's forward thinking has been mostly about profit. The hefty fined levied...show more content...
Life:
1.The initial oilrig explosion killed 11 people and injured 17 others.
2.An estimated 8,000 animals (birds, turtles, mammals) were reported dead just 6 months after the spill.
3.An uncountable number of fish and marine life destroyed for years to come.
Economic:
4.In the BP Oil Spill, more than 200 million gallons of crude oil pumped into the Gulf of Mexico for a total of 87 days, making it the biggest oil spill in
U.S. history.
5.BP is responsible for close to $40 billion in fines, cleanup costs, and settlements, with an additional $16 billion due to the Clean Water Act.
6.Millions of more dollars will need to be set aside for residual cleanup and future expenses for this area.
Ecological:
7.Sixteen thousand total miles of coastline affected, including the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
8.Of the four hundred miles of the Louisiana coast, one hundred twenty five miles were polluted by the oil spill.
9.The overall ecological health of the gulf after this disaster will remain in question for years to come. The inability to measure the extent of damage
goes beyond the economics. The overall health and well–being of these waters may never

BP Oil Spill Crisis Essay

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BP Oil Spill Crisis Essay