Why is BP liable for any of this?

I

Insomniac

New member
Mar 3, 2007
1,322
44
0
BP contracted out Transocean to drill for them. Doing so is standard practice in the industry. Transcocean messed up, and BP having the contract over the oil takes blame for it.

BP mobilizes a second rig to get it over there to drill a second hole and concrete it - surprise surprise it takes a few months to achieve this, and is therefore BP's backup plan. In the meantime they act in what is record time for the oil and gas industry to try to stop the leakage by what is considered to be a smart move by any engineer.

So BP didn't operate the rig which fucked up, they acted in record time to try to fix it, they put in motion a backup plan, they offered to pay for all damages from something they did not do, and yet everyone is hating on BP rather than Transocean. Good job ignorant people.
 


There all gonna pay, anyone that was involved will get dragged into one way or another. Just a fucked up deal all the way around, for everyone.
 
Dude, there was a 60 Minutes on this. BP management was on the rig and pushed for rushed and unsafe procedures.

Don't you watch 60 Minutes bro???
 
pegasus2218 said:
Dude, there was a 60 Minutes on this. BP management was on the rig and pushed for rushed and unsafe procedures.

Don't you watch 60 Minutes bro???
Click to expand...

Ever been a client before? Where on eath is there a client which doesn't want work done ahead of time and under budget? Transocean was more than welcome to say "sorry, we are dicks and don't know how to quote properly, we'll get it done a few weeks later and over budget"
 
Insomniac said:
Ever been a client before? Where on eath is there a client which doesn't want work done ahead of time and under budget? Transocean was more than welcome to say "sorry, we are dicks and don't know how to quote properly, we'll get it done a few weeks later and over budget"
Click to expand...

Agreed. It is the engineers job to tell the upper-level management to calm the fuck down and wait. If his job is threatened, then the engineer can take it up with whatever board governs engineers in the state (it's APEGBC for BC).

But I don't blame them for giving into pressure, especially from a company that makes more than some nations.
 
Well hiring contractors is basically like hiring employees.

Eventually all this will roll uphill to the people with the most money. And then everyone will start countersuing each other.

And BP has a history of blowing shit up for skipping safety rules. They will look bad in the press and in the court room.
 
They aren't helping themselves with the way they're handling the scrutiny, absolutely atrocious PR.
 
Insomniac said:
So BP didn't operate the rig which fucked up...
Click to expand...

If BP is paying someone to do something on their instructions and the external party ends up causing an issue, both parties are at fault. If BP didn't want to pay for someone's mistakes, then they should be operating it.

As others have said, BP had people on the rig overseeing operation that pushed for faster action.

As with any development, people who push for something done faster will end up with quality suffering and corners being cut.

Insomniac said:
...they acted in record time to try to fix it...
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, but we are now over 50 days and they finally got a cap over the leak collecting 15k out of the 50k gallons of oil leaking a day.

Oil has already killed off 25% of the Gulf's sea-life and caused damage for decades, with cleanup costs and loss of revenue well into the trillions if you look at extrinsic and intrinsic costs for all industries that will be affected.

The entire leak could have been stopped the first week by caving in the ground around the pipe.

Even then, BP could have had the pipe fitted with one of those seismic valves like they have on rigs in Europe that allow a sound wave to be sent to tell it to close, even if the controls on the surface are damaged - which would have stopped this whole mess on day 1.

No, BP has not acted in record time. No one involved, including the government has done more than put on a show.

Insomniac said:
...and yet everyone is hating on BP rather than Transocean. Good job ignorant people.
Click to expand...

No one is blaming BP alone. BP, Transocean, Government Licensing agencies, the President, etc. all have slipped up on this and care more about appearances, pointing fingers, and seeing to their own interests and profits than to looking at the bigger picture and solving the problem quickly to minimize decades-worth of damage.

Don't call people ignorant. There's a lot more to this story than just a major oil spill. So please, do get your facts straight before ranting.
 
Insomniac said:
BP contracted out Transocean to drill for them. Doing so is standard practice in the industry. Transcocean messed up, and BP having the contract over the oil takes blame for it.
Click to expand...

Yep, agree with all the rest. Say you get a contractor to develop a berry site for you, who do you think will get in trouble for operating it? Plus, Transocean's agreements say that they can not be liable for any of the shit. :)
 
Rexibit said:
As others have said, BP had people on the rig overseeing operation that pushed for faster action.
Click to expand...

It doesn't work like that. My brother used to be a field engineer on the Bayu Undan, which technically makes him "one of those people overseeing operations." Here is a rough outline of how reports go:

My brother offshore: "We have a leak on pipe X, here are detailed photos, stress tests, and whatever else I could manage to provide"
Onshore engineers: "We have a leak on the rig, we recommend patching it using method X, we have Y people available to deal with it"
Engineer Managers: "We have a problem on the rig, gonna cost $X to fix"
Project Manager: "Spent $X of budget on rig repairs"
Client Project Manager: "The rig has cost us $X to date, we budgeted $Y"
Project Coordinator: "Project is on schedule"
BOD: "We're going good, don't know anything about any leak"

Oil companies don't skimp, and the higher ups have extreme detachment from the projects by the time it gets onto the rig. "Overseeing" doesn't mean shit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: papajohn56
If I'm renting a house, and dig up the front yard until I hit the septic tank and shit is spewing everywhere down the street, should the landlord be responsible for the cleanup?
 
papajohn56 said:
If I'm renting a house, and dig up the front yard until I hit the septic tank and shit is spewing everywhere down the street, should the landlord be responsible for the cleanup?
Click to expand...

Way to copy me bro!! posted this in another thread...

johnmatrix said:
If the house you're renting suddenly explodes and starts spewing sewage into the neighbourhood, is the river of shit your fault or the landlord's fault?
Click to expand...
 
papajohn56 said:
If I'm renting a house, and dig up the front yard until I hit the septic tank and shit is spewing everywhere down the street, should the landlord be responsible for the cleanup?
Click to expand...
Transocean owned the rig, and BP was leasing it (and owned the mineral rights to the oil exploration for that spot/area, so theoretically they own the spilled oil?), but Transocean heading up operation of the rig. From what I've read on the contracts between them, it's pretty complicated. I'm sure they have lawyers on both sides figuring this one out.

BP publicly said it would cover the cost of the incident, so I'm sure something points to BP being responsible.
 
Because they get all the profits (from the oil).

Why did it take so long for someone to just give a straight and simple answer?
 
Not Your Friend said:
Because they get all the profits (from the oil).

Why did it take so long for someone to just give a straight and simple answer?
Click to expand...

They got all the profits?

So the 20,000 Americans who are employed by BP had no benefit? Not did the two thirds of it's shareholders, who are American, as are a large number of it's directors. Or the Billions it pays to the US in tax, royalties and other costs.

This is one thing that has annoyed me about the attitude since the spill. The idea that BP is the only one who benefits from being there.

As far as I'm aware, there is no evidence yet that BP actually breached safety regulations. Regulations that were relaxed by the President.
 
Reidy said:
They got all the profits?

So the 20,000 Americans who are employed by BP had no benefit? Not did the two thirds of it's shareholders, who are American, as are a large number of it's directors. Or the Billions it pays to the US in tax, royalties and other costs.

This is one thing that has annoyed me about the attitude since the spill. The idea that BP is the only one who benefits from being there.

As far as I'm aware, there is no evidence yet that BP actually breached safety regulations. Regulations that were relaxed by the President.
Click to expand...
If you saw any of my prior posts in other threads you'd realize that I was employed by a "contractor for BP" in Texas City, as a safety inspector in a matter of a fact.

I have no problem with BP personally.

I'm simply addressing the point, BP's behind the shit, who else are you going to blame?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom