When you think of the Deepwater disaster earlier this year, of course the main company responsible for the spill that springs to mind is BP, the operator of the rig. The next villain in the story is Transocean, the owner of the rig. One name that does not automatically jump out is Anadarko, the minority … Read More
Deepwater Horizon
Deepwater Increases Chance of “Oil Crunch”
Its not rocket science. But if you delay further expansion of offshore drilling because of the Deepwater disaster, then you risk compromising the supply of future oil supplies. If deepwater drilling is where over a quarter of new oil reserves are, then any delay in accessing these reserves could mean trouble. That is the conclusion … Read More
“Insufficient Consideration of Risk” on BP Rig
If the oil industry is about one thing and one thing only it is not really about oil, it is about risk. How a company manages the geological, technical, safety and financial risk of its daily decisions determines whether the company stays ahead of its cut-throat competitors. Oil just happens to be the commodity that … Read More
Spillcam Enters the Psyche
In another signal of the legacy of BP’s spill, it has emerged that “Spillcam” was one of the top words of 2010, reflecting the impact the spill had around the globe. Along with words such as “vuvuzela”and Sarah Palin’s “Refudiate” — a morph of refute and repudiate – Spillcam made the annual Global Language Monitor … Read More
Deepwater Disaster has “Long-Term Benefits”
I have explored enough on this blog how the perception that the Deepwater disaster would somehow be a game changer for the oil industry now looks wildly over optimistic and premature. There were always going to be winners and losers from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. But probably not many would have predicted that oil service … Read More
Hayward: “We Created Deepwater Mess”
So finally we get a bit of humility and contrition from Tony Hayward, ex-CEO of BP. Speaking for the first time since he resigned, Hayward has admitted that the Deepwater Horizon accident was BP’s fault, that he made mistakes and that BP was woefully unprepared for a disaster on this scale. So compare what Tony … Read More
The Game Remains the Same
In the days after the BP oil spill, many environmentalists argued that the spill would be a “game-changer”, that it would facilitate the transition to a clean energy future. But any new legislation that might have been introduced after the spill that placed stricter regulations on offshore drilling is not likely to come into force, … Read More
BP Disaster Adds to Oil Major “Identity Crisis”
Its not a new concept that the oil majors are struggling to come up with new reserves, but its not often that it is written in black and white. Well pink, actually. Today’s Financial Times has one of its special reports on Energy. It combines two of the recurring themes I have written about on … Read More
Despite The Bad Cement Job, Still Blame BP
This is a fight that is going to get ugly. Just as earlier in the year, we learnt a new language about top kills, and blow out preventers, anyone who is following the fall-out from the Deepwater Horizon disaster now has to become an expert in the consistency of cement. In the wake of new … Read More
BP: Stilling Passing Blame
Out with the old. In with the new. When BP ceremoniously dumped bumbling gaffe-prone Tony Hayward after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and ushered in smooth-talking Bob Dudley, it was meant to herald a new era in the troubled giant’s history. But the disaster still wrangles BP badly. And it is no surprise therefore that … Read More