This week’s case study, The BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, examines the devastating tragedy of the Deepwater Horizon. The case study calls upon established safety protocols and evacuation plans implemented by the Deepwater Horizon. Ownership of blame was continually passed from one organization to another. The tragic events of April 20, 2010 forever changed crisis response strategy. Ironically, BP employees, contractors, and other visitors were on the rig to celebrate their safety record (Crandall, Parnell, & Spillan, 2013). Further research uncovered a string of serious safety violations and quality control issues pertaining to BP (Lee & Garza-Gomez, 2012). Deepwater Horizon was equipped with an abundance of life boats and rafts. However,
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
British petroleum has experienced a series of oil spill accidents since it was established, however, the 2010 oil spill was considered the worst oil spill accident in the company’s history. The drilling rig in the Deepwater Horizon exploded and killed 11 workers and released thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico (Arnold & McKay 16). The accident affected different states along the coastline including Texas, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama and Louisiana. In addition, the oil spill affected the wild life as it killed birds, fish and destroyed nearby ecosystems and economies including tourism and fishing. Several factors contributed to the oil spill accident including cost saving and failure to put in place safety
The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill occurred on April 20, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. This oil spill was the largest spill in history in front of the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989. This oil spill released about 4.9 million barrels of oil into the ocean. This spill not only wreck havoc on the marine life but also the economic players that depended on ocean such as fisherman, tourism, and offshore drilling located along the gulf coast. Along will the spill the oil rig which was named Deepwater Horizon also went up in flames. This proved that the issue went far beyond just an oil rig that blew a line. Since this oil spill had drastic impacts all along the coast, BP which was the most liable for this incident faced criminal charges based on what happened. BP which knew the risks of deep ocean drilling failed to take the necessary safety procedures to reduce the risks of such incident occurring, thus was the reasoning behind placing most of the fault on them and not the other companies. The lack of regulatory oversight led to the issues and cost-cutting procedures opened the rig up to possible malfunctions like the one that occurred. During the spill into the gulf, BP sealed the well with cement which seemed to stop a majority of the oil from escaping the well. BP also recognized that the well was “dead” which was proven wrong when scientists still could conclude was leaking minor amounts of oil into the ocean. This spill not only proved to be harmful to the environment but also
On April 20, 2010, the petroleum industry suffered the largest maritime disaster oil spill in its history known as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig that had been working on a well for BP in the Gulf exploded and went up in flames. Subsequently, massive amounts of oil spilled out into the water, threatening the marine life and those living on the shore. The fire burned for 36 hours before the rig sank into the ocean, leaking dangerous chemicals into the water. Hydrocarbons and oil continued to leak into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days before they managed to seal the well. “The Gulf spill, which left 11 workers dead and 17 injured, is about the size of Rhode Island, running across the northern Gulf of Mexico between the mouth of the Mississippi River and Florida. It runs wide, threatening the coastlines, and deep, traveling beneath about 5,000 feet of water and 13,000 feet under the seabed,” (Emami, 2010). BP faced an angry uproar from the media, consumers, and environmentalists all over the world. The economy and the environment suffered greatly because of this incident. As investigations began, speculations quickly arose about the morals and capability of the company. The one positive image of BP had been shattered. Customers lost faith in the company and criticized the actions of its executives. Tony
The BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill tells the tragic story of what happened on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig back in April 2010. The rig, leased from another vendor, was digging a well on the Macondo slope in the Gulf when it exploded and fatally killed eleven employees and injured seventeen others (Crandall, Parnell, & Spillan, 2014). Not to mention, five million barrels of oil spilled into the sea causing an environmental issue that lasted more than ninety days.
King, Rawle O. 2013. Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster. 1st ed. [Place of publication not identified]: Bibliogov.
On April 28th, 2010 cleanup crews were rushing to clean up a huge oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico. This spill occurred because of an oil rig explosion that took place on April 20th. The oil spill was threatening miles of coast line in four different states, and not to mention marine wild life that live in those waters. This oil spill soon became the worst oil spill the United States had ever seen. There were 126 workers on board the oil rig when it exploded, most of the workers escaped, but eleven were missing but then confirmed dead. The cause of the explosion is being investigated. Since the explosion, experts estimated a total of 210,000 gallons of oil were spilling into the gulf. Experts are also worried about the sea life and how
The oil that has escaped the well has now spread throughout the ocean and some have floated to the top forming oil slicks on the surface which are being pushed by the wind and spreading rapidly damaging deep sea corals and other ecosystems. In order to contain the spill and begin to clean up, BP must quickly devise a plan of action to prevent further damage, destruction and loss of marine life. I have been obtained as a consultant by BP global to advise the CEO of BP during the oil spill disaster. This letter contains recommendations outlining the optimal leadership approach which will be most effective in the handling
Since the Deepwater Horizon explosion happened nearly six years ago there have been countless reports on the explosion and scientific studies on what cause it as well as its impact. There have also been investigations into the internal workers of BP and they concerns about the rig prior to the explosion. This case brings up social, political and environmental issues to light and the approaches BP had to each of these issues.
On April 20, 2010, one of the most horrific accidents occurred in regards to the oil and gas industry. An oil rig exploded not far off the coast of Louisiana. People were injured and even killed. Thick, brown oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico, destroying beaches and wildlife. Researchers and scientists were forced to find new ways to clean up the oil, in a quick and efficient manner. The immediate and lasting effects of the BP oil spill having caused numerous issues both physically and emotionally. BP has faced consequences for their mistakes and they have since made multiple changes to better the safety and quality of their company to prevent problems like these to happen again. Society should take a look at what happened during and after the oil spill and learn from the experience. I learned a lot about the topic after writing this research paper, and I have a new respect for the people that work in the oil and gas industry. I had no idea how much they risk every time they step foot on an oil rig.
Within hours of the Deepwater Horizon accident, BP teams were working to stop the leak. We also acted to minimize the spill’s impact on the environment by containing, removing and dispersing oil offshore, protecting the shoreline and cleaning up oil that came ashore. And we worked with wildlife groups to develop rescue and rehabilitation programmes for turtles, birds and other species. www.bp.com/ gulfofmexico/inpictures
There were a number of causes for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, most of which had more to do with the human element that with any technology itself. The four biggest ways that humans contributed to the disaster, as explained by journalist David Coburn, was the fact that British Petroleum’s (BP) past success built a sense of complacency, the shifting the burden of proof, the normalization of deviance and the fact that promoters for an industry also serve as that industry’s regulatory enforcers.
Recently, oil spill management has become a serious concern and subsequently, it has become a big issue as it takes a large, specifically trained team effort to solve the devastating problem. It also requires consistent efforts of the workforce. The Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico was perhaps another major contributing factor to highlighting the need for Oil Spill Management to be addressed. The director of the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement, Michael Bromwich stated that this oil spill proved that oil and gas organizations were not prepared to deal with oil spills. (Merolli, 2010).
Deepwater Horizon oil Spill: BP’s drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico had an explosion in April 2010, causing the “largest oil spill catastrophe in the petroleum industry history”. It caused the death of 11 men and injury to several others. “More than 150,000 barrels of crude oil gushed into the sea, every day, for almost 5 months and up to 68,000 square miles of the Gulf 's surface were covered” (1).
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 resulted in considerable damage to the environment, economy and human livelihoods. While BP, as one of the parties involved in the operation of the oil drilling on Deepwater Horizon rig, suffered huge financial loss and reputation loss, it was found to be the one to be mostly blamed due to its lack of risk management. As poor risk management can lead to an astonishing disaster like this, it appears to be necessary for every business to learn from BP’s mistakes and try the best to prevent such disaster from happening again. This report studies this case, focusing on two issues identified in BP’s risk management practices, namely its sloppy preparation for risks and its inappropriate communication strategy after the crisis happened. No evidence showed that BP had a sufficient emergency plan for the worst-case deep-water oil spill although the depth of the oil drilling was one of the deepest. BP’s unseriousness towards safety was also indicated in their attempt to shift blames to its contractors and the unaccountability shown by the words of BP’s executives during interviews. Based on the examination of BP’s deficiency in risk management, the lessons that can be learned from it are discussed. In brief, firstly, accurate risk assessment and appropriate emergency plan should be available before the operation is started. Secondly, post-crisis communication should show the world that the company cares and is accountable