Slowly but surely BP is trying to rebuild its battered image and rebuild the way it does business. Part of that process is rebuilding its internal processes and values and the way it rewards success. In an innovative move, the company has announced that performance to be judged solely on improving safety in the fourth … Read More
Deepwater Horizon
After a Pause for Breath, Let’s Drill Baby…
It was always a matter of time before the Obama Administration buckled under the intense pressure of the oil industry and Gulf States and let drilling resume in the Gulf. Weeks earlier than expected, the administration lifted the moratorium on deep-water drilling, that was put in place in the aftermath of the Deepwater disaster. “We … Read More
Offshore Safety Inspections Were Compromised
Ask anyone who works say as a teacher about being inspected by government officials and they say that it is the surprise inspections that matter. If you have weeks of notice about an inspection you by its very nature have to make sure everything is in order. The kids are all behaving themselves at the … Read More
Spill panel slams White House; warns over Arctic drilling
Back at the height of the BP oil spill, President Obama asked a commission to find out “what worked and didn’t” in the government’s response to the disaster. Well the bad news for Obama is that much didn’t work, making grim reading for the President and forcing the White House to hit back at some … Read More
“Deep-water drilling will continue because that’s where the oil is..”
The Washington Post this morning asks a fundamental question that has been played out in countless meetings of oil companies, government officials and environmental NGOs: “Will the oil spill make a drop of difference regarding our attitudes?” Some five months later, was the spill a game changer like many predicted? And the results seem to … Read More
Shell to Increase North American Output by 40 Percent
BP might be America’s bette noir right now after the Deepwater Horizon spill, but its fierce rival Shell is planning a massive expansion in the region. Shell plans to expand its operations in tar sands and in deepwater in the Gulf of Mexico. So never mind the repeated calls by environmental groups, communities and investors … Read More
Why Bob Has to be Wary of the “Bunker”
When Bob Dudley takes over the reins at BP on Friday he will face a daunting task and a bulging in-tray. He will be aware that his new job is a personal poisoned chalice, having effectively destroyed the careers of three of his predecessors: Tony Hayward, John Browne and Bob Horton have all left in … Read More
“Brazil is the future for the oil industry”..
Are investors put off by the risks of ultra deepwater drilling after the Deepwater Horizon disaster? If the frenzy down in Brazil is anything to go by – the answer is a staggering no. Brazil’s national oil company, Petrobras, has just raised a whopping $70bn in the biggest share issue in corporate history. And the … Read More
BP Will Survive, But What About the Others?
It is not rocket science that fickle City investors responded to the news of BP’s final plugging of the Macondo well by sending the company’s share price rising. BP’s share price rose by just under 2 per cent to $38.68, helping to recover a small portion of the billions wiped off BP’s market capitalisation during … Read More
“Dead Well” is a Just a Bump in the Road
So finally the well is dead. After 153 days, 5 million barrels spilt and a $10 billion bill so far, BP’s well is officially sealed. Although no crude has leaked from the well since BP capped it on July 15, the only way to permanently seal it was a bottom kill from the relief well. … Read More