Apperloo
11-11-2010, 08:00 PM
BP Cleared On Cost-Cutting Charge For Deepwater Disaster
<CITE>Parmy
Olson (http://search.forbes.com/search/colArchiveSearch?author=parmy+and+olson&aname=Parmy+Olson)</CITE>, 11.09.10, 10:00 AM EST
Shares rise after investigation says penny-pinching did not
cause disaster; Hayward speaks of media 'feeding fenzy.'
LONDON -- Shares of BP got a lift on Tuesday after a
presidential commission responsible for investigating the causes of the
Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of
Mexico (http://topics.forbes.com/Gulf%20of%20Mexico) said the oil spill (http://topics.forbes.com/oil%20spill) could
not be blamed on cost cutting by the oil giant. The findings exonerate BP from
one of the most damaging charges related to the spill.
"To date, we have not found a single instance where human beings made a
conscious decision to favor dollars over safety,” said Fred Bartlit, chief
counsel of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. His
comments lower the risk that BP will be hit with the maximum legal penalties for
the spill.
<SCRIPT src="http://d.yimg.com/ds/badge.js" badgetype="text" showbranding="0" ____yb="1">forbes:http://www.forbes.com/2010/11/09/bp-deepwater-horizon-markets-equities-spill-costs-presidential-commission.html?partner=yahoobuzz</SCRIPT>
shares
rose by 2.9% to 456 pence in London Tuesday afternoon. The stock has recovered
some ground in the last few months, up approximately 50% since early July, but
the shares are still down from the 648 pence they fetched at the time of the
April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, which killed 11 workers and caused the
worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.
Though Bartlit's conclusion seems to limit the potential liability of BP, his
view is also meeting with some level of skepticism. Forbes energy
writer Christopher Helman points
out that (http://blogs.forbes.com/christopherhelman/2010/11/08/obama-picked-investigator-says-no-safety-shortcuts-in-blowout-well-really/) it is "generally accepted wisdom among oil and gas insiders that of
course BP cut corners to finish Macondo as quickly as possible."
<SCRIPT type="text/javascript"><!--OAS_AD('x81') //--></SCRIPT>
Separately, BP's former chief executive Tony Hayward told the BBC (http://topics.forbes.com/bbc) in an interview that
the oil giant had not been fully prepared for the spill. "BP's contingency plans
were inadequate," he said. "We were making it up day to day." He added that the
media response to the oil spill had been a "feeding frenzy."
<CITE>Parmy
Olson (http://search.forbes.com/search/colArchiveSearch?author=parmy+and+olson&aname=Parmy+Olson)</CITE>, 11.09.10, 10:00 AM EST
Shares rise after investigation says penny-pinching did not
cause disaster; Hayward speaks of media 'feeding fenzy.'
LONDON -- Shares of BP got a lift on Tuesday after a
presidential commission responsible for investigating the causes of the
Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of
Mexico (http://topics.forbes.com/Gulf%20of%20Mexico) said the oil spill (http://topics.forbes.com/oil%20spill) could
not be blamed on cost cutting by the oil giant. The findings exonerate BP from
one of the most damaging charges related to the spill.
"To date, we have not found a single instance where human beings made a
conscious decision to favor dollars over safety,” said Fred Bartlit, chief
counsel of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. His
comments lower the risk that BP will be hit with the maximum legal penalties for
the spill.
<SCRIPT src="http://d.yimg.com/ds/badge.js" badgetype="text" showbranding="0" ____yb="1">forbes:http://www.forbes.com/2010/11/09/bp-deepwater-horizon-markets-equities-spill-costs-presidential-commission.html?partner=yahoobuzz</SCRIPT>
shares
rose by 2.9% to 456 pence in London Tuesday afternoon. The stock has recovered
some ground in the last few months, up approximately 50% since early July, but
the shares are still down from the 648 pence they fetched at the time of the
April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, which killed 11 workers and caused the
worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.
Though Bartlit's conclusion seems to limit the potential liability of BP, his
view is also meeting with some level of skepticism. Forbes energy
writer Christopher Helman points
out that (http://blogs.forbes.com/christopherhelman/2010/11/08/obama-picked-investigator-says-no-safety-shortcuts-in-blowout-well-really/) it is "generally accepted wisdom among oil and gas insiders that of
course BP cut corners to finish Macondo as quickly as possible."
<SCRIPT type="text/javascript"><!--OAS_AD('x81') //--></SCRIPT>
Separately, BP's former chief executive Tony Hayward told the BBC (http://topics.forbes.com/bbc) in an interview that
the oil giant had not been fully prepared for the spill. "BP's contingency plans
were inadequate," he said. "We were making it up day to day." He added that the
media response to the oil spill had been a "feeding frenzy."