...Compare and contrast the way Transocean and BP describe the incident chronology of the actual events leading up to and immediately following the blow out and explosions on the Deepwater Horizon. Answer: My first thoughts after I read both incident chronology’s, to compare and contrast the way Transocean and BP describe the incidents, is that BP or Transocean do not take ownership of the incident nor do either want to not acknowledge wrongdoing of any aspect of event. Transocean points the finger at BP and BP’s chronology seems to minimize their part. Transocean chronology begins on 4/14/2013, and ends 4/20/2013, while BP’s chronology begins on 10/6/2009, and ends 5/5/2013. The obvious differences in the incident chronologies are the BP incident chronology is longer, but does not have as much finger pointing and is not as interesting as Transocean’s. BP makes up for this in their “Accident Analysis” sections, but their chronology sticks to logs and facts compared to Transocean’s more narrative approach. BP uses bullet points at the beginning of their chronology and a dressed up spreadsheet with short descriptions of each timeline event. Transocean chronology is more descriptive and colorful. They use their incident chronology as a sounding board for all of BP’s shortcomings during the entire project. The use this section to minimize their involvement in the project. They use the chronology express “BP’s direction” and “BP’s poor decisions” during their involvement...
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...BP Control Functions Incontestably control mechanisms have existed within most businesses and organizations for guiding job responsibilities of employees toward accomplishing the company goals. There are many control mechanisms in a company. A strong human resources department controls managers and prevents employee abuse. Employee performance reviews and incentives assist in the control of employees. Compliance departments control legal risk and monitor operations to ensure the company follows state and federal rules. Financial budgets and accounting audits control financial risk. Product pricing controls marketing efforts. All the different departments must work together to create a strong and profitable company. The team will identify various control mechanisms in connection with British Protroleum (BP), compare, and contrast, determine the effectiveness, examine positive and negative reactions concerning their use, and provide an explanation about how the four functions of management are affected by them. BP used several control functions in its deep sea exploration process; all implemented to prevent the type of disaster they experienced in April 2010. There were systematic failures at every turn, creating a perfect storm and a devastating deep sea oil spill. The spill itself has been recorded as the largest oil spill to date in American history by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Zeller, 2010). According to the same article, the BP spill was...
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...contrast the way Transocean and BP describe the incidents, is that BP or Transocean do not take ownership of the incident nor do either want to not acknowledge wrongdoing of any aspect of event. Transocean points the finger at BP and BP’s chronology seems to minimize their part. Transocean chronology begins on 4/14/2013, and ends 4/20/2013, while BP’s chronology begins on 10/6/2009, and ends 5/5/2013. The obvious differences in the incident chronologies are the BP incident chronology is longer, but does not have as much finger pointing and is not as interesting as Transocean’s. BP makes up for this in their “Accident Analysis” sections, but their chronology sticks to logs and facts compared to Transocean’s more narrative approach. BP uses bullet points at the beginning of their chronology and a dressed up spreadsheet with short descriptions of each timeline event. Transocean chronology is more descriptive and colorful. They use their incident chronology as a sounding board for all of BP’s shortcomings during the entire project. The use this section to minimize their involvement in the project. They use the chronology express “BP’s direction” and “BP’s poor decisions” during their involvement with them during the project. The Deepwater Horizon, which was owned and operated by Transocean and had been under contract to BP, proves they were in this together, yet both want to distance themselves from the catastrophe. BP’s Deepwater Horizon Accident Report seems to get...
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...Ethics Case Analysis BP BP Struggles to Resolve Sustainability Disaster Case Summary: The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 is the worst oil spill in US history. Initial claims on the scope of the spill, as released by BP, was that 5,000 barrels per day were being released into the water, although they stated they had no way of precisely measuring the spill. Outside analysts have stated that between 54,000 and 84,000 barrels per day were leaking into the area. This estimate has been largely supported and accepted. The spill lasted for 87 days before workers finally sealed the leak, but by that time, more than 4 million barrels of oil had been released into the gulf. The BP oilrig, owned by Transocean, Deepwater Horizon had been in operation in the Gulf of Mexico since February 2001. The rig was valued at more than $560 million dollars and worked on many different wells in the gulf. The last well it operated on was the Macondo well. It was this well that the oil spill came from and was brought about by several preventable errors on the part of BP and Transocean management and employees. The Deepwater Horizon vessel was an exploratory rig assigned the duty of finding oil, reporting it, and capping the well for another extracting type rig to come in and harvest the oil. While drilling the well, the rig encountered pockets of natural gas buildups where it was drilling. A week prior to the fatal explosion, Horizon encountered one of these pockets and the natural...
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...Banegas World Geography 29 February 2012 BP Oil Spill Oil rigs provide the world with the fuel that is needed to keep it running. However, it is common knowledge that they may potentially cause harm to not only living creatures but also the environment they rely on to survive. This was proven in the spring of 2010 when an oil rig off the Gulf of Mexico exploded and resulted in an oil spill. This catastrophic event opened millions of eyes to the errors that can be found in the way oil rigs are set up. It also caused people to take a closer look at whose responsibility it is to make sure all the safety codes and procedures are being followed before a drilling plan in approved. The BP disaster not only drew people’s attention to the process of oil drilling, it also had a serious impact on the economy and an even more tragic impact on the environment and wildlife around it. It also provided a perfect example of the dangers oil drilling can pose if it is done in an area not prepared to handle the consequences. On April 20, 2010 an offshore oil rig owned by BP (British Petroleum) blew up, taking the lives of 11 people before beginning to dump dangerous amounts of crude oil into the ocean and coastlines of the Gulf of Mexico. The oil rig, known as Deepwater Horizon, is believed to have dumped more than 200 million gallons of the oil before it was capped off three months later. This number however, is only an estimate due to the refusal of BP to allow accurate measures of the spilt...
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...BP’s Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: What Went Wrong Elizabeth D. Jones Southern New Hampshire University Student: 0811981 Abstract On April 20th 2010 the Deepwater Horizon rig, operated by BP, exploded unleashing millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico resulting in the largest marine oil spill in history. What makes this spill so significant is the fact that the spill continued unabated for three months causing the declaration of a state of emergency across several states (Bozeman, 2011). The purpose of this study is to highlight the significant issues of management and leadership within BP and point out how the poor decisions surrounding the spill deeply hindered their corporate reputation. Additionally, the paper will offer ways in which BP and those involved could have possibly prevented this disaster or have better mitigated the impact had the catastrophe still occurred. Managing risks, monitoring safety, effective communication and ownership of faults are all solutions that if implemented can help BP restore their reputation and prevent misfortunes like this from happening in the future. BP’s Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: What Went Wrong British Petroleum (BP), In the early evening of April 20th, 2010 uncontrolled hydrocarbons escaped causing an explosion on the oil-drilling platform Deepwater Horizon resulting in one of the worst environmental disasters in world history. Within 36 hours the massive oil rig, approximately...
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...Board of Directors Oil and Energy Company, BP Prepared by John Molson School of Business Representative Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting Major March 23, 2011 MEMORANDUM DATE: March 23, 2011 TO: Board of Directors, Oil and Energy Company, BP FROM:, , Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting Major SUBJECT: SOLVING BP’S PROBLEMS REGARDING THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL Here is the report regarding the oil spill catastrophe that resulted from the explosion of Deepwater Horizon, which took place on April 20th 2010. The damages caused by this mishap are assessed and analyzed in this report. This report also includes recommendations made by experts in the specified fields relating to solving the issues brought fourth by this aforementioned spill. Despite the horrific consequences that have affected the global environment, BP’s reputation and BP’s financial assets due to this oil spill, certain efforts must be made on PB’s part in order to maintain a healthy environment for all living organisms on this planet. The information gathered in this report explores the methods at which BP could engage in this restoration process. Different methods that can be used to clean up the oil spill will be investigated in order to derive the best possible solution for BP. I am grateful towards BP’s board of directors for accepting responsibility of this oil spill by admitting that BP as an organization was at fault. It is important...
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...England. The initial name of BP is the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1909; in 1954 it changed to its present name British Petroleum. It is combined and reconstructed by the former British Petroleum, Amoco and ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company). BP’s business has spread to many fields including oil and natural gas, alternative fuels, the production of petroleum based product, aviation fuels and its business about the solar electric power generation is also growing very fast. Since 1981, BP has set up 12 branch companies successively in many fields such as mineral, food, ship, international finance, international detergent with its business spread to more than a hundred countries all over the world. BP has nearly 110,000 employees work all over the world. In 2003, BP is ranked on the FORTUNE as the first five global top 500 companies. Deepwater horizon oil spill and deepwater horizon explosion On 20th April, 2010, the Gulf of Mexico suffered a lot from a great catastrophe of oil spill. The drilling platform of the British Petroleum Corporation exploded in the deepwater horizon in the Gulf of Mexico which led to 11 workers death and very severe environment pollution. This event is regarded as the most severe oil spill incident in the history of America.。 Many people are curious about this catastrophe and people did not know what cause it and what actions would BP take. According to the inspection report BP made on 8th September, BP thought this catastrophe is not only BP’s fault,...
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...Carey October 28th 2015 Deepwater in Deep Trouble Summary: On April 20th 2010, the United States faced not only on of its largest environmental disasters but the biggest offshore oil spill in its history. Off the Gulf of Mexico a large oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, operated by British Petroleum, exploded killing 11 employees and leaking an estimated 4.9 million gallon of crude oil into the ocean. Furthermore, the explosion caused a subsequent fire resulting in the ultimate sinking of the Deepwater Horizon. Although this disaster was accidental there were many warning signs that BP neglected which could have prevented it. To begin with, the construction of the underwater drilling pipelines were shoddy and a vital valve was installed backwards. Consequently the pipelines became brittle, full of cracks, and flooded. In addition, equipment readings, internal documents from BP engineers, and other red flags warned that the rig wasn’t operating correctly and that there was potential for a dangerous explosion. However, all these signs were ignored and not addressed as threats by managers. In an effort to avoid incurring costs and to maximize profit, BP cut corners and underestimated the importance of safety. After initial investigations it became clear that BP not only missed significant signs but staff did not have proper training, maintenance of the rig was inferior, and overall BP lacked formalized emergency responses and a safety culture. As a result BP has undergone strict investigations...
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...England. The initial name of BP is the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1909; in 1954 it changed to its present name British Petroleum. It is combined and reconstructed by the former British Petroleum, Amoco and ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company). BP’s business has spread to many fields including oil and natural gas, alternative fuels, the production of petroleum based product, aviation fuels and its business about the solar electric power generation is also growing very fast. Since 1981, BP has set up 12 branch companies successively in many fields such as mineral, food, ship, international finance, international detergent with its business spread to more than a hundred countries all over the world. BP has nearly 110,000 employees work all over the world. In 2003, BP is ranked on the FORTUNE as the first five global top 500 companies. Deepwater horizon oil spill and deepwater horizon explosion On 20th April, 2010, the Gulf of Mexico suffered a lot from a great catastrophe of oil spill. The drilling platform of the British Petroleum Corporation exploded in the deepwater horizon in the Gulf of Mexico which led to 11 workers death and very severe environment pollution. This event is regarded as the most severe oil spill incident in the history of America.。 Many people are curious about this catastrophe and people did not know what cause it and what actions would BP take. According to the inspection report BP made on 8th September, BP thought this catastrophe is not only BP’s fault,...
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...England. The initial name of BP is the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1909; in 1954 it changed to its present name British Petroleum. It is combined and reconstructed by the former British Petroleum, Amoco and ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company). BP’s business has spread to many fields including oil and natural gas, alternative fuels, the production of petroleum based product, aviation fuels and its business about the solar electric power generation is also growing very fast. Since 1981, BP has set up 12 branch companies successively in many fields such as mineral, food, ship, international finance, international detergent with its business spread to more than a hundred countries all over the world. BP has nearly 110,000 employees work all over the world. In 2003, BP is ranked on the FORTUNE as the first five global top 500 companies. Deepwater horizon oil spill and deepwater horizon explosion On 20th April, 2010, the Gulf of Mexico suffered a lot from a great catastrophe of oil spill. The drilling platform of the British Petroleum Corporation exploded in the deepwater horizon in the Gulf of Mexico which led to 11 workers death and very severe environment pollution. This event is regarded as the most severe oil spill incident in the history of America.。 Many people are curious about this catastrophe and people did not know what cause it and what actions would BP take. According to the inspection report BP made on 8th September, BP thought this catastrophe is not only BP’s fault,...
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...Ethics in the Workplace Case Study: BP Oil Spill On April 20, 2010 off the Gulf of Mexico, there was a blowout of the Macondo well which is owned by British Petroleum also known as BP. When the blowout took place it got immediate media attention because aspects of the event were known over the world. Within events transpiring it was discovered how limited the resources and reaction to the disaster was going to be. This paper will detail aspects of the event from symptoms of the problem, the root cause, important unresolved issues, roles of the organization’s key players and stakeholders, and explain the focus of specific ethical systems. Also discussed in this paper are relevant strategies and alternatives, the effect of globalization on the choice of preferred alternatives, the most valid alternative and resolution recommendations, and an example of a successful implementation of the solution. Symptoms of the Problem Natural disasters or any disaster of any kind is hard to manage just for the purpose that these is no real planning for the situation and there is no real way to say who is in charge when a disaster happens. Concerning the oil spill with British Petroleum (BP) symptoms for the situation was that there was a delayed response, the impact on the environment and the citizens, federal regulations were lax, and the recovery efforts were not adequate. According to Griggs (2011), OPA 90 is a federal statute that holds all the responsible parties in containment, clean-up...
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...The BP oil spill has become widely accepted as the worst manmade environmental calamity in US history. The disaster wasn’t a catastrophe solely because of the extent of harm it caused the environment, but also because of the lack of concern and benevolence BP (primarily their CEO Tony Hayward) showed towards most stakeholders. This paper will give an account of many of the primary errors that were committed by BP. Also, specific dates will be used as a timeline in order to emphasize BP’s lack of concern and ability to act in a legal and ethical manner during the crisis. On April 20, 2010, a Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and causing the worst environmental disaster in US history (BBC News, 2010). Although there were obvious concerns for the environment, many of these worries were eased when the US Coast Guard announced that they were confident that there was no oil leaking from the well; which was located nearly a mile below the ocean’s surface. Given the depth and location at which BP was working, it would seem illogical not to have a crisis management plan in place. Unfortunately for BP, the company never acknowledged any real risk of a Deepwater oil spill. Thus, BP did not appear to have any related response plan in place. As they previously sought to expand Deepwater oil exploration, along with the rest of the oil industry, BP categorized a Deepwater spill as decidedly unlikely and claimed that if such a spill occurred...
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...British Petroleum’s Deep Water Horizon rig explosion infested the Gulf of Mexico, its surrounding coastline, and its inhabitants. The U.S. officials have labeled this incident as an accident. However, preceding events suggest otherwise. A causal argument attempts to demonstrate the believed relationship between actions and certain results. Due to neglect and financial greed, the livelihood of thousands was threatened. Transocean Ltd is the world's largest offshore drilling contractor. It rents floating mobile drill rigs, equipment, and personnel to oil and gas companies. The Deep Water Horizon oilrig was owned by Transocean and leased to BP when the explosion occurred. For three months oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico. Remote causes are events in the past that link to the future. An example of this in the case of the BP oil spill was the diminished work level of the organization that looks over the proper management of oilrigs. Due to the continual persuasion by profit-driven US corporate and financial elite, US government made it acceptable for the required work level of Mineral Management Service (MMS) to dwindle between 2005 and 2009. As a result, the safety regulations for workers and the environment were left up to drilling organizations. The lack of a constraining factor to stabilize safety resulted in negligence as the drilling companies found it cheaper and more convenient to assume that all operations were going well. As a result, the effectiveness of the rig blow...
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...British Petroleum Communication Problems inside BP Submitted by: Date: December 4, 2014 Memo 12/4/14 Jeff Lewis Metropolitan State University of Denver 890 Auraria Parkway Denver, CO 80204 Dear Jeff: Enclosed is my report on British Petroleum and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This report shows how BP cut corners to expedite construction and save millions of dollars. As a result, the biggest oil spill in United States occurred. Due to the reckless conduct of BP, the corners cut by the people in charge ended up costing them billions of dollars as well as endangering the habitat and wildlife in the area. After reading this report you will realize BP’s CEO Tony Hayward, all the way down to the engineers in charge of everyday operations were to blame for the worse oil tragedy in our history. Sincerely, Executive Summary This is a report on how British Petroleum has failed in many areas of business communications. It’s going to include 3 main points that will explain in detail on how British Petroleum had bad communication and how it ended up creating history’s biggest oil spill in the United States in the Gulf of Mexico. The 3 main points include: 1. Pre-Event Planning a. Anticipate, Prepare, Practice b. “Safety” Not a Core Value c. Responsibility of Employees 2. Expressing Concern and Wrongful Focus a. Slow in Expressing Concern b. Lack of Sympathy to...
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