BP Oil Leak Executives Point Fingers In Senate Hearing

The BP oil leak made its way into the political arena Tuesday when top oil company executives testified at a hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in New York. As the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continued unabated, suits from BP, Transocean and Halliburton each blamed the other guy for the disaster in the Senate hearings. Right now the BP oil leak totals 105,000 barrels based on an eyeball estimate of 5,000 barrels a day. That is a total of 4.4 million gallons and more is coming.

Circle of blame in BP oil leak

Responsibility for the cause of the gulf oil spill was passed among the oil company executives like an instant loan in the Senate hearings. CNNMoney.com reports that BP ended up blaming Transocean, owners of Deepwater Horizon, the rig that exploded and sank on April 20, leaving 11 workers dead. Transocean in turn blamed BP for setting specifications for the well and called out Halliburton, the company that built the well’s cement casing. Halliburton completed this circle by blaming BP once again.

Updates on oil spill

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010 is wreaking much havoc. Accuweather.com explains that there are winds from the southeast threatening to push the gulf oil spill toward more of the Louisiana coastline during the next few days. The spill might be pushed northwestward which will be either closer to or on the coast land. Areas at greatest risk to the growing oil slick are from Atchafalaya Bay to Louisiana’s southeastern most point. Also threatened will be places northwest of Breton Sound. Concerns are deepening about hurricanes and the possible drift of the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current, which passes through the Florida Straits into the Atlantic Ocean.

Shareholders sue as BP stock tanks

BP stock has taken a massive hit thanks to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The Wall Street Journal reported on May 3 that BP’s stock price has lost 14 percent since the oil rig it leased exploded and sank — about $20 billion in market value. The New York Times reported that BP will also take a hit on future earnings if it has to hold off on future exploration and drilling while it deals with the spill, which may cost BP at least $8 billion. The Associated Press reports that a BP stock holder filed suit against the corporation’s top executive accusing them of pursuing cost-cutting measures at the expense of employee safety, while lobbying government authorities to decrease safety regulation.

Finger pointing for BP oil leak

Executives testifying to lawmakers about the BP oil leak sought to absolve themselves from responsibility. In blaming Transocean, chairman and President of BP America Lamar McKay said Transocean was responsible for the safety of drilling operations. CNNMoney.com reports that McKay tried to divert the lawmakers’ attention to the blowout preventer valve that failed, saying it was owned by Transocean. In written testimony, Transocean said there was likely a failure of the well’s cement casing that was installed by Halliburton. Halliburton says it was BP’s fault because of their well specifications or it was Transocean’s fault for a faulty blowout preventer.

The Gulf oil spill and BP’s poor safety record

Based off of BP’s horrible safety record, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was bound to happen. The Guardian reports that BP has a recent history of disasters stemming from poor maintenance and faulty equipment, which includes a blast at a refinery in Texas City, Texas, in 2005 that killed 15 workers. A spill occurred in Alaska in 2006 just after BP was warned of a corroded pipeline. BP pleaded guilty to both of these incidents. In these past few years BP has paid $485 million in fines and settlements charges to the U.S. government for environmental crimes, neglect of worker safety rules and penalties for manipulating energy markets.

Article Resources

CNNMoney.com reports

http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/11/news/companies/BP_hearings/?npt=NP1

Accuweather.com

http://www.accuweather.com/

Associated Press reports

http://blog.al.com/press-register-business/2010/05/bp_shareholder_sues_executives.html

Guardian reports

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/05/congressman-bp-safety-oil-spill

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