Bp Deepwater Horizon Disaster

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 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill affected many small and large businesses in the coastal Gulf State regions, either directly or indirectly . The following industries showed a drop in activity level:

The eventual buildup to the BP oil spill started during the Bush Administration. The Bush Administration's oil demand and antigovernment sensibility soiled the Minerals Management Service (MMS), the agency charged with regulating offshore drilling. Vice President Dick Cheney had presided over the weakening of drilling regulations, including the exclusion of remote-shut-off switches which might have prevented the disaster. Soon, MMS was nothing but a shell of its former shell filled with corruption and political influence. In a 2008 report it was found that the agency's regulators were taking gifts from, and having sex with the employees of, the companies they were supposed to be monitoring. Furthermore, the

Oil flowed for eighty-seven days, leaking a total of four point nine million barrels of oil. The amount of oil spilt during the Deep Horizon accident would make this the largest accidental oil spill in history. This spill had a detrimental affect the environment, bringing on many investigations and lawsuits. On January 5,2011 the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling released their final report. The panel found that the explosion was a result of

How did the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 affect our economy and environment, and what does the future hold, with regard to the environment, oil drilling, and sustainability?

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded. It was positioned over the Macondo oil well when a burst of natural gas broke through the concrete core that had been used to seal off the oil well for later use. Once released by the fractured core the gas made its way up the riser and onto the platform, where it ignited killing eleven workers and injuring seventeen others. The highest-ranking BP supervisors on board the oil rig known as “Well site leaders” observed indications that the well was not secure, but did not take appropriate actions in order to remedy the problem. If the supervisors had done something, they may have been able to save the eleven lives lost that day. A similar accident happened to the Caspian Sea at another BP oil well in September 2008. Both cores were too weak to withstand the pressure because the concrete mixture contained Nitrogen gas used to accelerate the curing process (Brennan, 2013). Two days later the rig capsized and in the process knocked over the riser they had filled with drilling mud in order to stop the flow of gas and oil. Now with nothing holding it back the oil, it began pouring out of the hole. The oil that was being released everyday peaked at around 60,000 barrels of oil in one day. The well discharged oil for eighty-seven days before their attempts to repair the hole were successful. In the end, nearly five million barrels of oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico.

A little over seven years ago, on April 20, 2010, the BP oil company’s actions created the greatest manmade disaster to the environment in the United States history. In the aftermath of this disaster, thousands of marine organisms were injured and placed in life threatening scenarios. Thanks to the spill, the Gulf of Mexico and other parts of the ocean surrounding the gulf was flooded with an estimated amount of 205.8 million gallons of oil (Sakashita). The damages to the ecosystem and other organisms in the environment was detrimental, but the quantity loss of such a finite resource was devastating to the world. Society over uses and wastes non-renewable resources, therefore, should convert to a more infinite source of energy.

Late summer of 2010 saw one of the biggest environmental disasters in American history. In a region already plagued by the affects of Hurricane Katrina, a massive oil leak exploded just off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. For three months, oil gushed out of the broken well and flooded delicate swamplands with crude oil. The owner of the well, BP tried to take action and effectively communicate their solution strategies to both the public and to government, but ultimately failed tremendously based on massive miscommunication of how their efforts were actually faring in the region.

It is well known that in 2010 a oil spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil rig Deepwater Horizon, owned by BP, exploded and sank and caused a continued oil leak that released amlost 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the worst oil spill in U.S. history (Biello). In an address delivered inJune of 2010, President Obama called the oil spill “the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced” (Obama). Given the magnitude of the spill, and the media attention surrounding the issue, the entire topic became an emotional subject and strong opinions were formed regarding the nature of the spill and the correct way to proceed with containment and restoration. Of the many debates surrounding the issue, one which falls prey

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

BP's Deepwater Horizon accident in 2010 was one of the worst environmental disasters in history, and was also a public relations catastrophe for the company. This case demonstrates that corporate communications and public relations usually function well enough in routine situations, but tend to break down during crises and catastrophes. With BP's Gulf oil spill, just as with the meltdown of TEPCO's nuclear reactors in Fukushima, Japan, and the ongoing bribery and corruption scandal at Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp that occurred at roughly the same time, the businesses concerned suffered from a disastrous loss in public trust and confidence and severe damage to their image and reputation. Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) went bankrupt and ended up being nationalized by the Japanese government, while BP's CEO Tony Hayward was forced to resign. In all these kinds of crises, the businesses concerned not only faced adverse publicity, but public criticism by politicians and government officials, criminal investigations and tremendous civil liabilities. In addition, the Gulf oil spill resulted in loss of life and great damage to the environment and public health. Hayward became notorious for his public relations gaffes and misstatements, so much so that he did severe and permanent damage to the reputation of his company. BP's stock valuation fell by nearly $100 billion in three months, Congress and public opinion were outraged, and a moratorium on deep-water drilling was put in place. In

Oil covered everything: beaches, animals, plants, bottoms of boats. Approximately 205.8 million gallons of oil leaked into the ocean and toward the Louisiana shoreline. To put the amount in perspective, that oil could be used to drive a Toyota Prius around the earth 184,181 times (Repanich). All of this pollution and destruction because of one singular company: British Petroleum. Needless to say, the image of BP was tarnished because of this. What can a company do to come back from such a serious setback? This was the question that was faced by the company in 2010 (when the spill occurred), and is still being wrestled with today. By analyzing BP’s “Commitment to the Gulf” ad campaign, the brand’s desired identity is made very apparent. When it comes to oil, nearly all consumers are involved. However, BP does take specific steps in order to narrow down a target audience when it comes to advertising its product. Despite the hardships faced by BP stemming from the spill, consumers still have an addiction to oil. BP, the fourth largest oil company in the world (“Biggest Oil”), has such a firm hold on consumer society that it is a necessity in today’s consumer landscape. By pushing the brand’s identity to its target audience, BP used branding to overcome a severe controversy and rebuild the image it hoped to convey to consumers.

On April 20, 2010, the British Petroleum (BP) leased Deepwater Horizon drilling rig took an unexpected kick of gas pressure from an oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. The release ignited, and through the failure of the blowout preventers progressed into a firestorm. The fire consumed the drilling rig platform, sinking it, causing 11 casualties, and the subsequent release of 4.9 million barrels of oil into in the gulf before the release contained (British Petroleum). The incident is

Obviously there were many faulty decisions made, or important and critical decisions, not made, which contributed to the Deepwater Horizon/BP disaster. Decision making entails identifying and choosing alternative solutions that lead to a desired state of affairs (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013, p.330). Herbert Simon’s normative model is represented in this case. In the end decision makers were not able to evaluate all potential alternatives, thus choosing a solution that did not meet all qualifications (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013, p.333). Decision makers made decisions without possessing complete information, thus not making optimal decisions. Unpredicted pressure caused the increase of disagreements between the workers from the two different firms.

Divorce is not the only issue involving marriage in America. There are still reservations about same sex couples being given the privilege to marry each other. With American morality, values, religion, and culture being questioned, this is one of the heaviest debates of our time. America was founded on the belief of freedom for all, and the gender of your partner should not matter.