...Final Report on the Investigation of the Macondo Well Blowout Deepwater Horizon Study Group March 1, 2011 The Deepwater Horizon Study Group (DHSG) was formed by members of the Center for Catastrophic Risk Management (CCRM) in May 2010 in response to the blowout of the Macondo well on April 20, 2010. A fundamental premise in the DHSG work is: we look back to understand the why‘s and how‘s of this disaster so we can better understand how best to go forward. The goal of the DHSG work is defining how to best move forward – assessing what major steps are needed to develop our national oil and gas resources in a reliable, responsible, and accountable manner. Deepwater Horizon Study Group Investigation of the Macondo Well Blowout Disaster This Page Intentionally Left Blank Deepwater Horizon Study Group Investigation of the Macondo Well Blowout Disaster In Memoriam Jason Anderson Senior tool pusher Dewey Revette Driller Stephen Curtis Assistant driller Donald Clark Assistant driller Dale Burkeen Crane operator Karl Kleppinger Roughneck Adam Weise Roughneck Shane Roshto Roughneck Wyatt Kemp Derrick man Gordon Jones Mud engineer Blair Manuel Mud engineer 1 Deepwater Horizon Study Group Investigation of the Macondo Well Blowout Disaster In Memoriam The Environment 2 Deepwater Horizon Study Group Investigation of the Macondo Well Blowout Disaster Table of Contents In Memoriam....................................................................
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... An explosion at one of its Texas refineries caused fifteen deaths, 170 injuries, and a violation of the Clean Air Act in 2005. Years of neglecting pipeline corrosion led to its violation of the Clean Water Act in 2006 when Alaskan oil pipelines leaked crude oil into the tundra. The following year, another BP spill occurred near Prudhoe Bay, leaking toxic chemicals into the tundra and thus killing wildlife and vegetation (“BP Gulf Coast Disaster and Recovery”). These incidents, however, were dwarfed by an explosion at BP’s Gulf of Mexico offshore drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon, in April 2010. The explosion caused the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. It resulted in the deaths of eleven people and the release of an estimated 210 million gallons of oil into the surrounding environment (On-Scene Coordinator Report). BP controversially responded to the Deepwater Horizon disaster by releasing 1.8 million gallons of the dispersant Corexit into the Gulf of Mexico. Corexit is a chemical compound that can produce adverse health effects for humans, including skin inflammation, fatigue, and cognitive problems. Additionally, it can harm...
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...University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 8-1-2012 Deepwater, 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...
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...------------------------------------------------- Corporate Governance Case Study: British Petroleum Submitted by: Vanés Cassells Introduction In the words of Ramo (2009, p.8), “We are now at the start of what may become the most dramatic change in global order in several centuries... What we are facing isn’t one single shift... as much as an avalanche of ceaseless change... creating unprecedented disruption and dislocation.” Given that a crisis normally occurs without prior warning, it is therefore imperative that certain measures and procedures are put in place that can expedite a cure and thereby reduce the impact so that normality can be restored. For there to be effective crisis management, a robust risk management structure must be instituted within the organisation and must form an integral part of the ongoing corporate governance monitoring framework. A company should learn from previous incidents and incorporate preventative as well as curative measures into any risk assessment. The risk oversight function of the board has gained immense importance in the last few years, mainly due to the collapse of the financial sector in 2008. Today, risk management has become even more critical and challenging. Companies are now confronted with risks that are more complex, interconnected and potentially devastating than ever before. BP’s ostensible lack of consideration for the risks involved in exploration drilling contributed to large-scale disasters which, in turn...
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...could British Petroleum Company (BP) have minimized the risk of the deepwater oil drilling incident of April 20, 2010, and done a better job of crisis management after the fact? This environmental emergency was the result of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion which killed 11 workers, injured 17 others, and resulted in a sea-floor oil gusher leaking 185 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The media is filled with stories criticizing BP for not taking proper precautions to prevent the accident, and for their public response immediately following it. The following are representative of the headlines covering media outlets across the country and internationally: “BP touts itself as ‘green’, but faces PR disaster with BP oil spill” (Farhi, 2010), “Another Torrent BP Works to Stem: Its C.E.O.” (Krauss, 2010) “BP contingency plans for dealing with oil spill was riddled with errors” (Clark, 2010), “BP’s failures made worse by PR mistakes” (Weber, 2010), “BP oil spill: Leadership and IT failure (Krigsman, 2010). Statement of major relevant principles to be applied The major relevant principles to be applied to this analysis are strategic planning and leadership as they relate to crisis management. Strategic Planning Strategic planning is the process by which organizations define their strategy and make decisions on allocating resources to pursue that strategy. This includes decisions about the organization’s goals as they relate to long term survival...
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...Economics, Dunkerque, France. Superieure de Commerce/Management Department, University of Manuba, Tunis, Tunisia. *Corresponding author: Email: mohamed.mejri@univ-littoral.fr Abstract On the 20th of April 2010, an outstanding explosion of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig situated in the Golf of Mexico caused the largest maritime disaster oil spill in the USA history and particularly caused considerable reputation and financial losses to BP.To deal with the spill oil as well as reputation and financial losses, the company particularly use many tactics and tools to communicate with stakeholders during and after the crisis. However, crisis management and communication experts’ opinions differed on whether BP crisis communication was effective or ineffective.This paper aims to assess BP crisis communication and mainly to point out possible failures through a content analysis of secondary data collected from various sources (newspapers, magazines, annual reports and blogs). Keywords: British Petroleum, Crisis communication, Crisis Management, Deepwater horizon. Introduction On the 20th of April 2010, the petroleum industry has been marked by the largest maritime disaster oil spill in its history known as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This accident was caused by an outstanding explosion and has resulted in the killing of eleven people. Five months after the explosion and until the announcement of the completion of sealing of the oil well, some 780 million gallons of crude...
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...Risk: A New Framework By: Robert S.Kaplan and Anette Mikes When Tony Hayward became CEO of BP, in 2007, he vowed to make safety his top priority. Among the new rules he instituted were the requirements that all employees use lids on coffee cups while walking and refrain from texting while driving. Three years later, on Hayward’s watch, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, causing one of the worst man-made disasters in history. A U.S. investigation commission attributed the disaster to management failures that crippled “the ability of individuals involved identifying the risks they faced and to properly evaluate, communicate, and address them.” Hayward’s story reflects a common problem. Despite all the rhetoric and money invested in it, risk management is too often treated as a compliance issue that can be solved by drawing up lots of rules and making sure that all employees follow them. Many such rules, of course, are sensible and do reduce some risks that could severely damage a company. But rules-based risk management will not diminish either the likelihood or the impact of a disaster such as Deepwater Horizon, just as it did not prevent the failure of many financial institutions during the 2007–2008 credit crisis. In this article, we present a new categorization of risk that allows executives to tell which risks can be managed through a rules-based model and which require alternative approaches. We examine the individual and organizational challenges...
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...Sustainability Review 2011 bp.com/sustainability Building a stronger, safer BP What’s inside 2011 was a year of recovery, consolidation and change for BP. Our employees worked hard to make BP a stronger, safer company. We recognize there is more to do, but we believe important progress was achieved during the year, and we are clear on our priorities and responsibilities as we move forward. In this Sustainability Review, we look at how we are working to enhance safety and risk management, earn back trust and grow value, following the Gulf of Mexico accident. Stakeholder voices External and internal stakeholders have been essential in shaping this report. Many of their insights and opinions are highlighted here and online. We also include observations and a summary statement from our external assurance provider, Ernst & Young. During our work we interviewed staff responsible for engaging with external stakeholders and reviewed evidence of how information from these dialogues is captured. We have also attended a selection of briefings to investors and two of the roundtable discussions held in 2011 to understand the perspectives of various thought leaders on how BP should evolve its reporting and communications. We noted that stakeholders welcome this dialogue but there remains a desire for more comprehensive reporting on how BP is changing. Ernst & Young Observation Find out more online This Sustainability Review is a summary...
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...Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and BP Environmental Clean-Up Deb Schoenwether MGMT 312 Creativity & Innovation December 8, 2010 Submitted By: Joe Panayiotou Angela Merryfield Sonya Meggs Lisa Parker Kristi Mathews Introduction: (Lisa Parker) On April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on an offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 28 people. It was later found that the wellhead was damaged and was leaking oil from the British Petroleum (BP) Oil Refinery into the Gulf of Mexico. In a report on the incident issued by BP on September 8, the company admitted that there were weaknesses in the cement design and testing. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. BP is the third largest energy company and the fourth largest company in the world. BP is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its largest division is BP America, which is the biggest producer of oil and gas in the United States and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. (Wikipedia, 2010) This significant oil spill poses a serious threat to people, industries, businesses, wildlife and beaches along the coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The spill continues to cause extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats as well as the Gulf's fishing and tourism industries. BP states that they will recruit a series of teams to clean-up the shorelines and workers will receive safety training before clean-up takes place...
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...(2010) kemy Emesih Southern New Hampshire University Abstract In researching this topic, the organizational roles, structures and behaviors at various levels of employee hierarchy and how they played into one of the biggest crisis in the United States – BP oil spill 2010 was examined. Also looked at, was the dysfunction within the organization and if the cleanup had led to a better organizational structure, culture, communication, leadership and behavior. What are irredeemably forsaken are reputation and trust that can lead to a company folding up if it is not built on a good Organizational structure, culture, personality, communication, decision making and ethics. Some research questions were asked and used to answer some of these issues. What were the behavioral approach as it pertained to leadership? How did leadership influence, change or manage people? Did it inspire a vision, put people first and act decisively when there were issues? Etc. As stated above, this research paper specifically looks at BP Organizational structure and communication, culture, leadership and behavior as a whole and provides some solutions that could better help, prevent or avoid future crisis. BP Oil Spill 2010 Introduction In every company or organization, there is a structure and there are rules and regulations that guide the conduct of such places. BP is one of...
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...BP From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This is the latest accepted revision, accepted on 2 October 2010.Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the energy corporation. For other uses, see BP (disambiguation). For information on the oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon rig, see Deepwater Horizon oil spill. BP p.l.c. Type Public limited company (LSE: BP, NYSE: BP) Industry Oil and natural gas, alternative fuels Founded 1909 (as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company) 1954 (as the British Petroleum Company) 1998 (merger of British Petroleum and Amoco) Headquarters London, United Kingdom Area served Worldwide Key people Carl-Henric Svanberg (Chairman) Tony Hayward (CEO) Bob Dudley (Director, CEO (appointed)) Byron Grote (CFO)[1] Products BP petroleum and derived products BP service stations Air BP Aviation Fuels Castrol motor oil ARCO gas stations am/pm convenience stores Aral service stations solar panels Revenue US $246.1 billion (2009)[2] Operating income US $26.43 billion (2009)[2] Net income US $16.58 billion (2009)[2] Total assets US $236.0 billion (2009) Total equity US $101.6 billion (2009) Employees 80,300 (Dec 2009)[3] Website BP.com A 1922 BP advertisement.BP p.l.c.[4][5] (LSE: BP, NYSE: BP) is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third largest energy company and the fourth largest company in the world measured by revenues and is one of the six oil and gas "supermajors".[6][7] ...
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...services to the energy industry (Halliburton, 2011). Halliburton has operations in 80 countries and employs over 60,000 people. Its operations consist of two subdivisions, Completion and Production and Drilling and Evaluation that distribute cementing, stimulation, intervention and completion services. The Drilling and Evaluation subdivision provides field and reservoir modeling, drilling, evaluation, and well construction solutions that allow customers to model, measure, and optimize their well placement permanence (Halliburton, 2011). This includes drilling services, wireline, fluid services, drill bits, software asset solutions, and project management services. Halliburton offers an assortment of products and services, therefore, making production and development of oil and gas profitable. Planning function of management Management is the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals (Bateman & Snell, 2009). Halliburton is managed by a Board of Directors who are responsible for the planning functions at all levels within the business. The Board of Directors believes that the primary responsibility of the Directors is to provide effective governance over Halliburton’s affairs for the benefit of its stockholders (Halliburton, 2011). Halliburton’s action plans are focused on clients, customers, stockholders and employees that oversee business development. Our goal is to provide products and services that have the smallest environmental...
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...SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Prepared for: Professor Christopher Selvarajah Prepared by: Thanh Tuan Nguyen Student ID : 100010779 Prepared for: Professor Christopher Selvarajah Prepared by: Thanh Tuan Nguyen Student ID : 100010779 Exploring Justice, Fairness and Organizational sustainability in the international environment: The case of 2010 Gulf of Mexico Exploring Justice, Fairness and Organizational sustainability in the international environment: The case of 2010 Gulf of Mexico Abstract This study leverages insights from the literature of organizational sustainability, stakeholder theory as well as the notion of organizational justice and fairness to help answer the question as to how companies should morally prioritize corporate social responsibility, corporate accountability and stakeholder claims. In this paper, I also utilized the concept of corporate social responsibility as well as the triple bottom line in order to form my own model of sustainability. This model is used to analyze the case of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spills which was claimed as the responsibility of British Petroleum. I also addressed the strong relationship between organizational justice and organization sustainability with the conclusion that by enhancing organizational justice and fairness, organizations will be able to obtain its sustainable development in the long terms. Moreover, it is important to note that this article...
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...1. Introduction The company, BP is the third-largest energy company where produces approximately 3.8 million barrels of oil and gas per day and possesses 22,400 service stations over the world. However, the oil disaster called as BP oil spill or the deep water horizon oil spill was occurred on April 20th, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico recording the greatest oil spill compared to other oil spill accidents in our history. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion caused deaths of 11 workers, 17 workers injured as well as a tremendous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, this case has been described as a complex accident including a variety of issues ranging from environmental to economic, politics and even ethical issues. The goal of our research is to find any ethical issues since this disaster happened is closely related to ethics which is concerned with moral obligation, social responsibility and justice (Carolyn Wiley, 1997) either individual (‘bad apples’) or organizational (‘bad barrels), which should be evaluated to verify this case. Firstly, the ethical issues can largely be divided into three categories, namely (1) technical design which has had some testing flaws before the actual usage and insufficient guidelines against the negative pressure test, (2) human factors including misjudgment, errors and a failure in duty, (3) organizational system such as taking risk procedures to save time and money and refusing the advice of staff and contractors as well as slowness to...
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...British Petroleum Individual Project Phillip Zaphiropoulos Friday, November 16, 2012 ADM1300 B Jean-François Aubert “In partial fulfillment of the requirement of ADM1300.” ADM1300 Fall 2012 Individual Project – British Petroleum 1. Executive Summary To: CEO Robert Dudley From: Phillip Zaphiropoulos Date: November 16, 2012 British Petroleum is a public limited company. They suffered a huge downfall from their 2010 Mexican Gulf oil spill, although have rebounded very positively since then with major improvements in the company, both ethically and environmentally. This company markets its products in over 100 countries and, as of December 2011, employs over 83,000 employees. British Petroleum has worked hard to honour their commitments to the people and communities of the Gulf Coast. This company produces the natural resources that the world depends on daily, and produces them in some of the most operative, proficient, and resourceful ways which are possible today. (BP, n.d.). This company proves to be constantly evolving in the world. They are always innovating and coming up with new ways to operate their business as to cause the most minimal effect or damage on the environment. BP has become one of the most environmentally aware companies of the modern age, especially from what they have gone through in the Gulf of Mexico, and the revolutionary technologies they have integrated in their business operations. The vertically integrated company uses three...
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