[BITList] bp cost cutting

[s14engine]

high

what a mess................................but if it was going to happen, it would happen to BP. in the US their safety record can only be described as abysmal. mentioned below is the  2005 explosion at a BP PLC refinery in Texas City that killed 15 people and injured more than 170 - now this......................
incidentally, did you know that British Petroleum bill them selves in the USA as Beyond Petroleum and not British Petroleum? 
additionally, they seem to go to extraordinary lengths on line and in print [financial statements, etc.] to only call them selves just BP - nothing else, just BP!
as mentioned below - BP seem to sub-contract everything and I do mean everything; I was involved in a $5 billion offshore oil project for BP, I was told there were only 3 BP salaried staff involved..... I only met one of them - an American. he had apparently been involved in other large BP projects but as far as I was concerned he was a real awkward bastard who didn't know his arse from his elbow - spectacularly unimpressive.
as to the BOP [see below], as far as I can make out - it didn't work as it should, but the whole question of the cause is of the explosion and subsequent mess is shrouded in mystery at the moment. I guess everyone is being tight-lipped about it.
I have an email in to a rig manager of my acquaintance concerning a possible cause, but so far no response.
I never had any interest in the offshore [or on-shore for that matter] oil industry, it appeared to me to be run by a bunch of yee-haw cowboy types form the southern states whose only way of working and solving was of the sledge hammer to the walnut variety, and whose sole interest was killing bambi. to them beethoven was a st. bernard dog, waylon / shooter jennings and ricky scaggs are cultural icons and the grand ole oprey is heavenly bliss...........

ct

Gulf Oil Spill: Cost-cutting to Blame?
April 30, 2010 - 11:27 AM | by: Greg Palkot 
LONDON Critics of British Petroleum have told Fox News past cost-cutting by the London-based oil giant helped to contribute to the rig explosion and oil spill disaster now unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico.

Tom Bower, author of the 2009 book "The Squeeze, Oil, Money and Greed in the 21st Century," told Fox, British Petroleum's economizing led to a lack of engineers, an overdependence on out-sourcing, and even a lack of supervisors to keep an eye on the sub-contractors.

The explosion which led to the oil spill in Gulf while occurring on an oil rig operating for BP was run by another company, Transocean. BP has said while it assumes responsibility for the incident, it is still waiting for an investigation to show Transocean's role .

Critics say if there was at least a supervisor on the rig, BP would already have a better understanding of the incident

It is also charged a voluntary remote control cut-off switch might have headed off the oil spill. When Fox put that to BP spokesman Robert Wine, he told us that was Transocean's responsibility.

As to the broader charge that BP has stripped its engineering ranks, spokesman Wine told Fox News those numbers are being built back up and that subcontractors are actually bringing "expertise to the operation."

BP's Wine DID admit to Fox News, in the wake of a series of other safety-related incidents involving BP including the deadly fire at a Texas City refinery in 2005, the company is in the midst of a "renewal" of "procedures" aiming at improved safety and a reduction of oil spills. 

While the exact dimensions of the spill are still being assessed, its already taking its financial toll on the BP oil giant. 

Nick McGregor, oil analyst for London-based Red Mayne Bentley told Fox News that 20 billion dollars has been written off the market value of the company. He said thats four to five times the total cost of the devastating 1989 Exxon Valdez spill.

"People are uncertain how this is going to go," McGregor told us, "they don't know how bad it's going to get."

As to the charge that engineering cut-backs at BP might have contributed to the disaster, McGregor said that only during the "post-mortem" stage of the probe would it be clear where the exact fault lies.



From: HUGH 
Sent: Friday, April 30, 2010 7:24 AM
To: bitlist at lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com 
Subject: Re: [BITList] Gulf Rig fire pictures and text


Colin,

Some of the pictures remind me of the Iceland volcano.  Given the multiplicity of red buttons enabling the BOP to shut off at the sea bottom, one wonders why at least one of them wasn't pushed - at all, never mind in time.  Or, if one was pushed, what else was wrong?  Not much point in having a BOP if it doesn't P when required to.

Hugh.


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