Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

The Deepwater Horizon accident and subsequent oil spill are tragic indeed. However, the accident was just that, AN ACCIDENT. It is amusing and annoying to read all the articles in the media about how BP messed things up or how BP did not do something right. So-called oil spill "pundits" most of whom have never even seen a drilling rig in their lives, leave alone an off-shore platform at such extreme depths are plunging into the discussion offering their "expert" opinion on what BP should have done or what it should do. Bureaucrats are jumping into the fray telling BP how to run the company. People who have never run a business in their lives or managed a joint-venture or partnership before seem to have become experts overnight.

I worked for the BP family of companies for nearly two decades. I left the company because I did not like several things that went on there. However, on the issue of safety, I have not seen another company take things more seriously than BP. During my time there, the company always put Safety and Environmental Responsibilities above profits or cash flow. Projects would be put on hold or manufacturing plants would be shut down immediately if the team had the slightest doubt about safety. In fact, several of BP's suppliers, customers and contractors have been coming to BP to learn how BP did such a thorough job on issues concerning Health, Safety and Environment.

So, to all of you "arm chair" pundits out there criticizing BP for what happened, let me give you some food for thought. Around the world, hundreds of off-shore oil wells are being drilled. Several of them are deep-water wells. What happened with the Deepwater Horizon should not have happened. Every accident is preventable; but it is still an accident. Shouldn't we take comfort in the fact that the party responsible for the oil spill and hence the clean-up effort is a company with the resources of BP. What would we have done if the responsibility fell on the shoulder of a company that was a fraction of the size of BP? Would we still want to put our feet to their neck (or what ever it is that Ken Salazar said)? For those playing the card of US .vs. UK, remember that BP might be a UK company but it employs a lot of people in the US.

It is always easy to sit in an arm-chair (or Starbucks or wherever it is the so- called "experts" sit in or whatever they sit on) and pass judgement on something one has no experience in whatsoever.