...Management Final Paper Known as the “Mediterranean of the Americas,” the Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. It extends roughly 995 miles from east to west and 560 miles from north to south. The Gulf is bordered by The United States to the North, Mexico to the west and south, and Cuba to the southeast (The Environmental Protection Agency, 2012). The Gulf connects to the Atlantic Ocean through a current from the Yucatan Straight, circulating around the Gulf and exiting through the Florida Straight, forming the Gulf Stream (The Environmental Protection Agency, 2012). With over 600,000 square miles of area and 16,000 miles of shoreline, the Gulf of Mexico supports a host of economic activities. Tourism, shipping, agriculture, fishing, fisheries, oyster production, shrimp production, oil and gas production, and more from the Gulf produce annual economic activities in excess of $234 billion (Hargreaves, 2010). Oil and gas industry creates $124 billion annually, the largest chunk of Gulf economic activities (Hargreaves, 2010). This industry, while creating the largest economic impact in the area, is also responsible for creating its largest ecological disaster. On April 20, 2010, The BP and Transocean operated oilrig Deepwater Horizon had recently suspended drilling operations more that 50 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana’s coast (Rigzone). BP had filed a permit to temporarily abandon the well and move the rig to a new location...
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...The BP oil spill and its impact will be felt in the Gulf of Mexico region for years, if not decades. In the months after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana in April 2010, it's estimated that almost five million barrels of oil gushed from the seabed and into the Gulf, making it the worst oil spill in history. Now that the flow of oil has stopped, the scope of the catastrophe is coming into focus, and attention is turning to how things will play out in the court system. This article looks at some of the legal issues raised by the BP oil spill, including legal options for businesses and individuals looking to get back on their financial feet after the oil spill. (For in-depth information on filing a claim with BP's $20 billion compensation fund, see Nolo's article BP Oil Spill: Filing a Claim With BP's Compensation Fund.) The BP Oil Spill: Types of Lawsuits The BP oil spill has already prompted the filing of thousands of lawsuits. Businesses and workers have seen their livelihoods suffer or even disappear in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Texas. Families and individuals in the Gulf region worry about the health hazards posed by the chemicals used to disperse and clean up the oil. And, with its dubious distinction as the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history, the BP oil spill has inflicted immeasurable devastation on the Gulf's coastline, wetlands, wildlife, and ecosystems. Here's a look at the different kinds of lawsuits...
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...Gulf Oil Spill Grand Canyon University: Economics for Public Administrators ADM-614 September 10, 2014 Gulf Oil Spill The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimated that 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico over a span of 87 days. This catastrophic environmental disaster is known as the Gulf Oil Spill occurred on April 20, 2010 about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana. An oil drilling rig (Deepwater Horizon) leased by British Petroleum (BP) ignited and exploded spewing 42,000 gallons of oil a day into the Gulf. Two days later the rig sank increasing the spill rate to 210,000 gallons of oil a day. Analysis – Government intervention The U.S. Government named BP as the responsible party in the incident; BP was found negligent in communication and safety practices, the company was held accountable for all cleanup costs resulting from the oil spill. Individuals and businesses that incurred damages as a result of the oil spill were able to submit claims for cleanup cost, property damages, loss of earnings or profits, and for physical injuries or death. The private industry and public sector both sectors failed in many aspects: inspection measures were not properly in place, safety updates and recommendations were not followed and sufficient resources were not provided to enforce safety guidelines and inspection requirements. Randall Holcombe’s book Public Sector affirms that government has a role to play in the market economy;...
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...Petroleum, also known as BP, is a company that provides energy services to different countries. BP is a global organization that focuses on production, refining, distributing, trading, and exploration of energy. The industry of energy is defined by challenge. It must be determined how to meet the supply of demand. BP has increased their reserves and the need to diversify. BP experienced a horrific accident in April 2010, which was named the Deep-water Horizons. The company was responsible for an oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. This spill will have a lasting economic, personal, and environmental effect on those involved in it. Many workers, individuals, and businesses were impacted along the coast lines. For workers, those who worked on tugs, barges, oil rigs, or fishing/shrimp boats lost wages and time off work because of the oil spill. Individuals, or residents, that lived along the coast line may experience health issues because of the chemicals and toxic fumes that were released as a result of the oil spill. Property owners may have damage to their land if any of the chemicals was washed up and came in contact with the soil. Businesses around the coast line, especially fishing and tourist, suffered due to damage caused by the spill. These businesses suffered a significant lost due to the oil spill. Many will have to lay off workers or lose their businesses all together due to this issue. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is also known as the...
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...On July 27, 2010 oil began leaking from a well off the coast of New Mexico. This spill, classified as an accidental spill, will greatly affect worldwide business and business practices. Before the conclusion of the oil spill, 4.4 million barrels of oil will have leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. This catastrophic event will have a clear negative effect on international business that will in turn people living and working throughout the world. The primary business that was affected by the oil spill was the seafood market. Many worldwide seafood distributers and restaurants rely on this region for the products that make their business successful. According to Jaquetta White, the spill has decreased the number of crabs, lobsters, and other types of ocean fish produced around the world. The area that was affected by the spill was extremely rich in crabs which were exported to the many worldwide businesses that needed them. According to Scott O'Connell, the other type of crustacean that was affected was shrimp. The Gulf region has an abundant population of shrimp that are exported all around the world but especially to Mexico. In addition to negative seafood sales across the world, was the impact to fishermen and their crews when they could not continue to capture their product from the oily waters. The economic interdependence of these businesses was greatly compromised from the fishermen at the ocean level to the worldwide businesses that did not receive their product (nola.com)...
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...In light of recent unfortunate, unforeseen events at BP we have had to make some decisive decisions to counteract the events of the situation. We have come up with a four step plan to get this situation under control and eliminated. The first step is to stop the leak, the second step is to clean up what has spilled, third is to fix the problem and update our equipment to ensure this does not happen again, and the final step is to setup a wildlife reserve. The first step is to stop the leak. To do this we at BP are in collaboration with many experts to resolve the issue. We must concentrate our efforts to reach this goal as the plan does not matter if we do not accomplish this first and very important step. We are exhausting all our resources to figure out a solution that is fast and effect for the short term. Our goal is to get the leak stopped so we can continue our plan we have set in place. BP is continuing to work with the U.S. Coast Guard and other federal agencies and contractors to safely and effectively stop the oil well and to minimize its environmental impact. We are doing absolutely everything in our power to eliminate the source of the leak and contain the environmental impact of the spill. We are determined to fight this spill on all fronts, in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, in the shallow waters, and on the shore. More than 2,500 people are working in the response effort following the sinking of the Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. BP's...
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...Ethical Responsibility with Oil Companies Lisa Dauwen National American University Abstract There are processes that oil companies need to go through to make sure that they are operating ethically. They include protecting the environment, researching alternative sustainable energies, and making sure that they are allowing for economic growth. This paper will look at 3 oil companies that are familiar to the United States. The paper will also look at the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill and look at any ethical concerns. It will discuss how an oil company can follow corporate social responsibility (CSR) tools to lessen their environmental footprint. Ethical Responsibility with Oil Companies All companies in the world have the responsibility to operate in a manner that follows the laws of the government. All of these companies also have a social responsibility to follow ethical laws. Along with all the other types of companies, oil companies have the social responsibilities to protect the environment, to research sustainable energies, to safely explore and produce in new areas, and they also have responsibility of fostering economic growth. It is important for oil companies, perhaps more important than other companies, to hold up to these social responsibilities because if they don’t find new ways to produce energy, future generations could run out. There has been much talk in the last few months regarding oil companies and if they are being ethical when making decisions...
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...Stephanie Angulo AC1408307 SC260.2.1 Introduction to Ecology Assignment 8: Ecological Crisis of the BP Oil Spill April 25th 2015 On April 20th, 2010, a massive offshore drilling rig, formal known as the Deepwater Horizon, exploded and set fire. The explosion caused oil pipes to burst and spill thousands of barrels of oil into the Golf of Mexico. According to Do Something, an environmental website, have reported the death and injury of 28, more than 8,000 animals dead within six months, and 16,000 miles of coastline pollution (11 facts about BP oil spill). The BP oil spill has since became one of the worst ecological disaster in America's history. People living near the coast line has been affected due to polluted air and water. Many children had been sick and they had problem breathing fresh air. There were several issues with this oil spill: professional issues, ethics and new technology issues, legal, regulatory and political, safety issues, and environmental issues. If BP would have taken care of all these issues there had been no oil spill. The oil spill is the result of a series of events that eventually led to tens of thousands of barrels of petroleum to be leaked into the gulf. In September, BP released a report that analyzed the events leading up to the incident. The report shows that the fire was caused by a release of hydrocarbons from the well, and them onto the oil rig (BP internal investgation team) The Deepwater horizon was equipped with fail-safe mechanisms in case...
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...Deep Ties, Deep Trouble: A StateCorporate Environmental Crime Analysis of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Elizabeth A. Bradshaw Western Michigan University, brads2ea@cmich.edu Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Bradshaw, Elizabeth A., "Deepwater, Deep Ties, Deep Trouble: A State-Corporate Environmental Crime Analysis of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill" (2012). Dissertations. Paper 53. This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact maira.bundza@wmich.edu. DEEPWATER, DEEP TIES, DEEP TROUBLE: A STATE-CORPORATE ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME ANALYSIS OF THE 2010 GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL by Elizabeth A. Bradshaw A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Sociology Advisor: Ronald C. Kramer, Ph.D. Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan August 2012 THE GRADUATE COLLEGE WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN June 29, 2012 Date WE HEREBY APPROVE THE DISSERTATION SUBMITTED BY Elizabeth A. Bradshaw ENTITLED Deepwater, Deep Ties, Deep Trouble: A State-Corporate Environmental Crime Analysis of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill AS PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS...
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...No. 55 High School BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Investigation Subject: Geography Level: High (HL) Name: Stephanie Chinese: 姜智旻 Homeroom: 10-5 Word count: 1088 Student number: 4192 Supervisor: Craig Hamilton On 20th of August 2010, the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, operating in the Gulf of Mexico exploded then sunk resulting to 11 deaths. During the 87 days, about 4.9 billion barrels of oil had already spread. An estimation of 42,000 gallon of oil is oozing from underwater. From then 75,000km2 was not allowed for fishing. Apparently, the blowout preventer device had bad managements and operations, and failed. Investigators said, “The problems with this blowout preventer were worse than we understood.” (Seth, 2014) In addition, investigators have stated that the cause of this explosion was because of the screw ups with cement, drilling mud, fluid pressure, mismanaged tests, and poor decisions. Therefore, this device should be improved so it doesn’t happen again. They have discovered that it has been the device operator’s fault in view of the fact that the blowout preventer hasn’t been tested accurately, there were problems in the wiring and dead batteries. In order to clean the oil excess, they used powerful chemicals, which they don’t know the effects of on the environment. It was from 1.6km down to the bottom. After this cause, the British Petroleum (BP) went into investigation, negotiating with more than 50 expertise from within BP and industry. Not only...
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...High School BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Investigation Subject: Geography Level: High (HL) Name: Stephanie Chinese: 姜智旻 Homeroom: 10-5 Word count: 1088 Student number: 4192 Supervisor: Craig Hamilton   On 20th of August 2010, the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, operating in the Gulf of Mexico exploded then sunk resulting to 11 deaths. During the 87 days, about 4.9 billion barrels of oil had already spread. An estimation of 42,000 gallon of oil is oozing from underwater. From then 75,000km2 was not allowed for fishing.  Apparently, the blowout preventer device had bad managements and operations, and failed. Investigators said, “The problems with this blowout preventer were worse than we understood.†(Seth, 2014) In addition, investigators have stated that the cause of this explosion was because of the screw ups with cement, drilling mud, fluid pressure, mismanaged tests, and poor decisions. Therefore, this device should be improved so it doesn’t happen again. They have discovered that it has been the device operator’s fault in view of the fact that the blowout preventer hasn’t been tested accurately, there were problems in the wiring and dead batteries. In order to clean the oil excess, they used powerful chemicals, which they don’t know the effects of on the environment. It was from 1.6km down to the bottom. After this cause, the British Petroleum (BP) went into investigation, negotiating with more than 50 expertise from within BP and industry...
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...BP Oil Spill Public Relations Response Introduction BP Oil Spill which is also known as Gulf of Mexico and Deepwater Horizon oil spill is the largest marine oil spill throughout the history which was caused by an explosion on offshore oil platform namely Deepwater Horizon on 20th April, 2010 located at the Mississippi River delta. British Petroleum (BP) was the principal developer of Macondo Prospects oil field where the accident held. The accident occurred when they were closing the oil well for using it in future prospects. BP claimed that on July 15, 2010 they capped the well by stopping the flow of into the Gulf of Mexico in 86 days. Following the hazards of oil spill U.S. Government held British Petroleum responsible for the incident and told the company for all cleanup measure which result in oil spill. BP accepted the responsibility and cleanup costs. According to numerous reports, abnormal amounts of high-pressure methane gas accumulated inside the rig's marine risers, a complex system of tubing that runs between an underwater oil sources. The methane gas traveled through the risers and expanded rapidly, igniting the oil within. The exact cause of the explosion and fire are still under investigation, but according to interviews conducted during BP's internal investigation, several workers aboard the rig reported that a bubble of methane gas had in fact escaped from the well and shot up the drill column, expanding as it burst through several seals and barriers before...
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...BP & Deepwater Horizon C. Nelson BP & Deepwater Horizon Every business, in some way, is affected by public and private criticism. One industry that is never too far away from criticism is the oil and gas industry. Over the course of this essay, we will explore BP, its stakeholders, some of their criticisms, and BP’s response to those criticisms. BP, formerly British Petroleum, is the fourth largest oil and gas companies in the world in terms of revenue and sixth based on production. (Statista, 2015) (Forbes, 2015) Although BP doesn’t have an official mission statement, the company does have a few statements entitled “Our Values”, “Clear Priorities”, and “Our strategy and sustainability”. BP (2015) states, “We have five values that express our shared understanding of what we believe, how we aim to behave and what we aspire to be as an organization.” Those five values include safety, respect, excellence, courage, and one team. “Clear Priorities” (2015) details three main topics that top the company’s interests including: safe, reliable and compliant operations; disciplined financial choices; and competitive project execution. Thirdly, BP has a commitment to sustainability and states (2015), “We believe that the best way for BP to achieve sustainable success is by acting in the long-term interests of our shareholders, our partners and society.” The three pillars augment the lack of a mission statement and express BP’s commitments and responsibilities....
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...On April 20, 2010 a gas release and explosion happened on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, famously known as the BP oil spill. It was the largest oil spill in the United States history, eleven people died from the spill and injured 17 others. From the spill there was about more than about 200 million gallons of crude oil that was pumped into the Gulf of Mexico. It happened for almost a total of 87 days, the oil spill started on April 20 until July 15. From underwater cameras it showed that the BP pipe was leaking oil and gas on the ocean floor about 42 miles off the coast of Louisiana. After hearing about the oil spill workers from BP and many government agencies tried to control the spread of the oil to beaches and other coastal ecosystems using floating booms to contain surface oil and chemical oil dispersants to break it down underwater. [pic]Over a period of those 87 days the wellhead leaked for about 3.19 million barrels. After the release of the oil it cause some floated to the ocean's surface to form oil slicks which expanded more quickly by being pushed by winds. The spill affected coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida adding up to total about 16,000 miles. Many investigations were started from the incident, the U.S government faulted BP and the rig operator. Due to many much of the spill coming in contact with wetlands and estuaries affecting many wildlife habitats and fishing and tourism. Being that Louisiana is mostly a tourist state, they...
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...Since April of 2010, BP Oil Company has been working to repair the damages of an oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. According to Do Something, an environmental website, have reported the death and injury of 28, more than 8,000 animals dead within six months, and 16,000 miles of coastline pollution (11 Facts about the BP Oil Spill). Many accounts blame this catastrophe on BP’s neglect to properly build and maintain machinery. Several clean up workers and fisherman have been affected due to this oil spill (Reed 35). People living near the coast line has been affected due to polluted air and water. Many children had been sick and they had problem breathing fresh air. BP’s ways of “cutting corners” are a point of interest when considering the factors leading to the Deep-water Horizon Oil Spill. There were several issues with this oil spill: professional issues, ethics and new technology issues, legal, regulatory and political, safety issues, and environmental issues. If BP would have taken care of all these issues there had been no oil spill. According to the official federal report, BP’s management cut corners in many areas, especially during the installation of the drill. While drilling the drill pipe got stuck and the engineering had to redesign the parameters but completely cut corners to drill the fastest way possible, which was the start of BP’s problems. Events leading up to the Deepwater Horizon incident led one to question the values and motives of the British Petroleum...
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