BP, and others, from a previous thread

so you don't think the administrations' reaction to this is not related to the snub they got from b.p. earlier in the year?

the rig is owned by transocean and the work that appears to have caused the problem was being undertaken by halliburton. why are the news headlines and press releases [from the steps of the white house] preoccupied by foreign-owned b.p? [rhetorical]

"hls" wrote in news:o5ednc-wRKK6UmzWnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

BP has lately been far more concerned with pleasing the environuts than operating a sound and safe business. This has been covered extensively in the media.

Their recent record leads me to suspect that it will be pretty ugly.

Who's "we"?

Well, Teg, either you are part of "we", or you arent.

I think it's more likely "we" is part of "weren't"...

Just kidding. I know what you're saying.

And to answer Tegger, there are a LOT of "we's".

There are we's that are fans of the environment. There are the we's that are Toyota fans (I think you see which one I fit...) There are we's that LIKE to think the company is out to give us the best product possible.

At least I'm in two of those we's (the environment? Well, I'll let some other we's worry about that. I wouldn't be driving the cars I do if I were really, really concernecd...)

"hls" wrote in news:LZ6dnbIUUc_mb2zWnZ2dnUVZ_q- snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Well, in that case, the "Royal We" says that one excellent idea would be to repeal the legislated cap on liability for oil spills.

The "Royal We" hopes you actually read this, and in its entirety.

100% agree. But it should go further. If we find that people have prejudiced their ethical responsibilities, the penalties should be harsh and immediate.

"hls" wrote in news:-oCdnZH-D_LlZ2zWnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

You never read the article in my link. I can tell by your reply.

On the web, BP Owens to step down

On the web, BP Chief may lose his job cuhulin

Dont know which link... I try to read the most of them, but may have missed this one.

Ethics is a word that is less and less used in business.

When I worked at my company's main research center, we had to swear to an ethical obligation every year. One of my friends told me that "if you know something, you had damn sure better not convey it to the ethics group". They WILL find you, and you WILL be fired.

Ireland and UK have a temperate climate, because of the Gulf Stream.Some of that oil mess in the Gulf of Mexico might wind up over there. cuhulin

The problem is that position is about as realistic as Alice in Wonderland.

For 30 year no nuclear power plants have been built because the federal government lifted the limits on liability for Nuclear reactors after 3 mile island. No one is going to build a Nuclear power plant if the owners are entirely responsible for the worst case disaster. As soon as that changes there will be lots of plants built.

If the federal government lifted the limits on liability for offshore oil drilling the same thing would happen. We would have pretty much no offshore drilling and of course every one would be blaming the tree huggers for enacting the legislation that makes drilling impossible. Even if nothing is done about liability limits this accident is going to have a chilling effect on offshore drilling. The liability caps just limits what BP might have to pay from large damage lawsuits from those who are harmed by the blow out (such as shrimp fisherman and the families of those who were killed). Even with the protection against huge lawsuits it is going to cost BP a lot of money anyway. They still have to pay for the containment and clean up of the leaking oil. They can't just walk away from a leaking oil well. And they will still suffer the losses of their equipment and the oil. The cost of the losses and the cleanup are going to dwarf the costs BP ends up paying as result of lawsuits. Investment in offshore drilling is going to take a big hit when it sinks in to investors how much a blow out like this one can cost.

-jim

"hls" wrote in news:I8OdnbSiGJmGYGzWnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

This link:

"hls" wrote in news:o5ednc-wRKK6UmzWnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Well one thing appears clear to me now. They're *far* more interest in getting the oil from that one well than in capping it quickly or at all. Certainly From BP. Time for the government to take over entirely and bill BP for everything.

How much is a dead Pelican worth?

On the web, How much money is British Petroleum worth?

(seriously, just how much money is BP worth?)

That BP oil Gusher affects my State.It affects ME! It affects other U.S.States and millions of people and fisheries.I am not the only person Highly Ticked Off at BP.

So far, BP has lost thirty billion dollars in value. If BP goes belly up, I don't care! I want those oil leak(s) Stopped and BP to clean up all of that mess. cuhulin

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@storefull-3173.bay.webtv.net:

Um. Their common stock price perhaps, but that's it. They're spending no where near their daily profit in the cleanup.

BP, remember, is not the only company involved here. This will be a case, as I said earlier, that will go on a long time, and others will be implicated.

Remember that Exxon, after the Valdez event, went through the motions of cleanup. The director of research, Larry Coker, died, I am told, after this cleanup and the high level of stress was thought to have contributed.

But after ALL these years, I am told that Exxon hasn't really paid a penny of the lawsuit judgments.

I understand your frustration, and certainly (being a resident of the Gulf coast myself, your anger. BP WILL be hammered. So will some other companies, probably. But this may not be in your lifetime, and there is, unfortunately, absolutely nothing you can do about it but keep calm.

BP is a huge company. They are not likely to go under because of this less than cataclysmic event. Life will continue on planet Earth, but not in the pristine way that it had gone on up to now.

You are hearing my stoic side tonight. You can cry over spilled milk if you want to, but you will likely cry alone.

I am not crying,,, like many, many other people, I am frustrated.

On the web, Grand Isle,Louisiana cuhulin

"hls" wrote in news:X_KdnRbcfcn3QWTWnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Yes, but BP owns the well, and hence the responsibility. Although I'd like nothing better that to see Cheney on some beach in LA not wearing a hazmat suit of any sort picking up tarballs with his bare hands and bagging them.

I understand your anger..sincerely.

Assignment of liability and responsibility will make some lawyers rich, because you can almost bet that this will be investigated and argued in court.

Might BP have been a victim here? Maybe...if they contracted for

-equipment,

-personnel

-expertise

-products, or

-technology that turned out to be faulty or applied by a contractor outside the terms of the agreements and guarantees, then BP might argue that the real liability should be focused somewhere else.

I dont know if all the responsibility will float to the top on this one. Regardless, it does not remove the oil from our waters and tidelands.