...Crisis 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...
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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 Gulf oil spill is recognized as the worst disaster in U.S. history.(Worse than not graduating high school) Within days of the April 20, 2010 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 people, underwater cameras revealed the BP pipe was leaking oil and gas on the ocean floor about 42 miles off the coast of Louisiana. By the time the well was capped on July 15, 2010 (87 days later), an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf. The well was located over 5,000 feet beneath the water’s surface in the vast frontier of the deep sea—a permanently dark environment, marked by constantly cold temperatures just above freezing and extremely high pressures. Scientists divide the ocean into at least three zones, and the deep ocean accounts for about three-quarters of Earth’s total ocean volume. Immediately after the explosion, workers from BP and Transocean (owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig), 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. Additionally, numerous scientists and researchers descended upon the Gulf region to gather data. Researchers are still trying to understand the spill and its impact on marine life, the Gulf coast, and human communities. Over the course of 87 days, the damaged Macondo wellhead, located around 5,000 feet beneath the ocean's...
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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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...amounts of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Although many different individuals and organizations attempted to help BP fix their spewing well, it wasn’t until July 15 that the vent was cut off. Through our research we have developed an analysis that examines the cause of the cause of the disaster, the event itself and its aftermath. We would also like to offer our recommendations on the subject. British Petroleum is an international oil company base in London and is one the nations leading oil and gas producer (History of oil spill). In spite of BP’s market share, as a company they have an unfortunate history of safety breeches including a 2005 explosion at oil refinery in Texas (Deep Water dDrilling). These accidents seem to be a cause of weak corporate safety culture and cost leadership (On average, fifty percent of management bonuses were awarded on the basis of cost cutting). The lack of proper safety practice and absence of oversight has ultimately resulted in infrastructure and architectural failure (Deep Water Drilling). As with any disaster, each party involves attempts to prove their innocence and are all too quick to point a finger at a party that must be guiltier than they and the Deepwater Horizon spill is no different. Although BP owned the oil, other companies had considerable interaction with Horizon; Transocean owned and operated the drilling rig and Halliburton which worked on the drill days before the explosion (A History of Oil Spill). Unfortunately,...
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...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 Affected People c. Accountability 3. Company Truthfulness a. Alarm Negligence b. Learn From Mistakes Table of Contents Introduction 5 Figure 1: BP Oil Spill Statistic………………………………………………………………….5 Purpose 5 Procedure 5 Organization...
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...Oil spills can destroy marine biomes across the globe, yet they are still extremely common, and there’s no truly effective way to handle them. Two of the largest oil spills that ever occurred are the Gulf Oil Spill and the Arabian Gulf Spill. Both spills wreaked havoc on the environment surrounding them, endangering birds, destroying coral reefs, washing up on beaches, and so much more. Surprisingly, both ecosystems have recovered more quickly than was originally expected. Within 5 years, they returned to almost normal conditions. This is likely in part because of the incredible amounts of money spent and the charities that organized community clean-ups. The Arabian Gulf Spill leaked as many as 336 million gallons of oil into the ocean, and...
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...Crisis Panel BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill British Petroleum is a multinational company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. BP dedicates to find, extract, transport, and commercialize oil and gas. BP is the fourth largest global energy company in the world and it is the largest producer of oil and gas in the United States with headquarters in Houston Texas. Since BP started operating in United States has been involved in many environmental and safety scandals. The most recent incident is the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico near the Louisiana coast. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and it has created a huge damage in the environment. In the morning of April 20, 2010 the Deepwater Horizon exploded; there were 126 members on the platform when fire engulfed the platform, although most of the workers escaped the rig by lifeboat and were subsequently evacuated by boat or airlifted by helicopter for medical treatment; however, eleven workers were never found despite a three-day Coast Guard search operation, and are presumed to have died in the explosion. The fire on the platform lasted for 36 hours and ended by the Deepwater Horizon sank. Two days later after the explosion a large oil slick was discovered at the former side of the platform, it was confirmed that a damaged wellhead was leaking. BP estimated the worst case flow at 162,000 barrels per day. Initial estimates by Coast Guard and BP officials...
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...Oil Spill The disaster that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010 was a huge deal to our nation. I'm sure that everyone old enough to understand heard about the oil spill. The spill was very bad, but I believe we got lucky because it could have been even worse than it ended up to be. The oil flowed into the open ocean for over three months, but it was originally thought that it was going to take even longer to stop. A oil spill of that magnitude could severely damage any environment that it was spilt into. The corporation BP took much heat from the government, along with everyone around the country for causing the leak, and not fixing it quick enough. The fact is, once the leak started as it did, it was a very hard problem for them to stop. My paper will cover three elements of this horrible disaster: First, the ecological impact on life in the gulf after the spill, Second, the current economic life of the local communities, and lastly, what is being done to mitigate future consequences. First, obviously the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico left an ecological impact on life in the gulf, and surrounding areas. On July 15, the leak was stopped by capping the gushing wellhead, after it had released about 4.9 million barrels,^ or 205.8 million gallons of crude oil. That is a whole lot of oil being released, so the impact that it had on the environment was a big one. Actually, it was the largest accidental marine oil spill in history. Obviously the marine...
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...Institute Subject Date The BP Oil Spill Introduction Oil spill refers the condition in which fluids of petroleum flow into marine habitats (IMO 2005). Water pollution is one of the types of pollutions known to be very notorious in controlling. Although oil products are insoluble in water, the method of evacuating oil spills from the water surface, is never an easy task. When oil spills occur, the layer of petroleum formed on the surface of the water leads to blockage of the oxygen mixing with the water, to support marine life. Consequently, the marine life is affected, and if no control measures taken in time, it can lead to mass destruction to the marine life. In history, many oil spills have occurred with varied intensity. The accident of British Petroleum is one of the notable oil spills in the history. The BP oil spill that occurred back in April, 2010 in the Mexico’s Gulf is among the oil spills that caused a massive damage to the marine life. According to Ocean Portal Team (The Ocean Portal Team 1), the BP oil spill was ranked among the worst ever oil spills in the history. As a result of this accident, the British Petroleum management has been very vigilant in their businesses, and they have sought to assure everyone that they are committed to avoiding such occurrences in the future. BP being not an American firm, it has attempted to convince the Americans that indeed its management had felt the impact of the spill as any citizen of the nation would. In...
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...Advertising - 1 Instructor: Charles Ayodele Everest University Online January 5, 2015 * Did BP use a proactive or reactive strategy? Explain why. * Was the strategy effective? Why or why not? Bp oil slick was the biggest catastrophe in American history; happening on April 20, 2010 pumping in excess of 200 million gallons of unrefined petroleum into the Gulf of Mexico. The oil rig blast slaughtered 11 individuals, harming 17. Also, till date the oil keeps on being appearing on shores; making long haul harms to neighborhoods. Also, the Bp Oil Spill was in charge of the demise of in excess of 8,000 creatures, including numerous imperiled species. The quick impact of the Oil spill affected the untamed life which included oil-covered winged animals (Ducks) and ocean turtles. "In-situ smoldering oil" (the blazing of oil in a contained zone on the surface of the water) was utilized as a strategy for the treatment of the oil slick which adversely affected nature. Henceforth, the Bp Oil spill adversely affected numerous parts of the earth and different variables, making it the biggest catastrophe in American history. The Bp Oil Spill emergency happened because of the organization's carelessness bringing attention to the heartbreaking effects it has cause on diverse businesses. The Bp Oil Spill extraordinarily affected the earth showing the organizations to fortify the methodology to readiness and reaction arranging. Arranging and fortifying the methodology to such mishaps permits viable...
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...BP Oil Spill Introduction: On the evening of April 22nd, 2010, a gas released and subsequent explosion occurred on the deck of Transocean Deepwater oil rig that was on the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven were killed and many were injured during the thirty-six hours it burned while hydrocarbons leaked into the Gulf of Mexico before it was closed off and sealed. The oil slick was produced by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that covered almost 29,000 square miles. The disaster was quickly declared the largest oil spill in United States history. Not only was the ocean surface glazed with oil sheen, the impact on the marine ecosystem below the surface and onshore was devastating. Many concerns were raised about the environmental impact of chemicals known as dispersants that were used to dissipate the oil slick. Governmental agencies and others worked together to control the spill and minimize the impact that it would have on the environment and human health by containing it and cleaning up whatever came ashore. “Oil spills can affect water in a variety of ways it spreads out into a very thin layer across the surface which is called slick and it expands till it’s extremely thin”.(Bourne, 2010, p.2) The Deepwater Horizon oil spill wasn’t an unavoidable accident it was the results from negligence and avarice. The oil spill sparked heated debates regarding a variety of issues; the country’s dependence on fossil fuels, government regulations and which organization was more at fault. Key...
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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...
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...Eric Davis Soc 120 Introduction to Ethics & Social Responsibility Joe Niehaus October 3, 2010 Environmental Ethical Issues History According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, (2008) environmental ethics began to come to the surface in 1970s. The environmentalists started urging philosophers who were involved with environmental groups to do something about environmental ethics. Most academic activity in the 1970s was spent debating the Lynn White thesis and the tragedy of the commons. These debates were primarily historical, theological, and religious, not philosophical. Throughout most of the decade philosophers sat on the sidelines trying to determine what a field called environmental ethics might look like. The first philosophical conference was organized by William Blackstone at the University of Georgia in 1972. Environmental ethics is the discipline in philosophy that studies the moral relationship of human beings to, and also the value and moral status of the environment and its nonhuman contents. In the literature on environmental ethics the distinction between instrumental value and intrinsic value has been of considerable importance. When environmental ethics emerged as a new sub-discipline of philosophy in the early 1970s, it did so by posing a dispute to traditional anthropocentrism. It questioned the assumed moral superiority of human beings to members of other species on earth. In addition, it investigated the possibility of rational...
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...never get anything done. Throughout history people have made mistakes every single day. Some errors turn out to be a good thing while some turn out to be something disastrous. The discovery of Penicillin and the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, two well remembered events in history, are examples of faults made by everyday people. Sir Alexander Fleming was a young bacteriologist when an accidental discovery led to one of the great developments of modern medicine in 1929. Having left a plate of staphylococcus bacteria uncovered, Fleming noticed that a mold that had fallen on the culture had killed many of the bacteria. He identified the mold as penicillium notatum, similar to the kind found on bread. On February 14, 1929, Fleming introduced his mold by-product called penicillin to cure bacterial infections. Alexander Fleming's mistake saved many lives and still continues to help patients today. The Gulf oil spill is recognized as the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Within days of the April 20, 2010 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 people, underwater cameras revealed the BP pipe was leaking oil and gas on the ocean floor about 42 miles off the coast of Louisiana. By the time the well, located over 5,000 feet beneath the water’s surface in the vast frontier of the deep sea, was capped on July 15, 2010 (87 days later), an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf. Immediately after the explosion,...
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