Commission report on Gulf disaster
BP gets a slap on the wrist
By
Gene Clancy
Published Jan 17, 2011 10:12 PM
On Jan. 6, a presidential commission released excerpts of a report on the BP
oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This was good news for BP and one of its
subcontractors, Transocean: The prices for their shares rose as investors bet
that the report meant that the firms would avoid the massive costs of a gross
negligence charge. (Reuters, Jan. 6)
It was bad news for working and poor people who are employed and/or live in the
Gulf region, and for all who are concerned about the environment.
On April 20, an explosion aboard BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig killed 11
men and injured 17 others. Attempts to staunch the gusher failed, until a cap
was finally deployed over the undersea well on July 15. By that time, 4.4
million barrels of oil had spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.
The oil spill, which now ranks as the largest offshore oil disaster in U.S.
history, destroyed huge areas of sensitive wildlife and habitat, and paralyzed
important segments of the Gulf Coast’s economy, including the seafood
industry and tourism. The area still has one of the highest unemployment rates
in the country.
The report’s 48-page excerpt says that “poor decisions” by
BP; Transocean Ltd., the rig’s owner; and Halliburton Corp., a contractor
on the rig, led to technical problems that contributed to the disaster. It
stated that individual decisions made by each of those parties, while saving
significant time and money, upped the risk that a catastrophic blowout would
occur. (AP, Jan 6)
The report also warned that such a disaster could happen again, due to systemic
problems within the offshore oil and gas industry, and among government
regulators who oversee it.
Shortly after the catastrophe, President Barack Obama promised to hold BP
completely accountable for all damages arising from the spill. He declared a
six-month moratorium on deep sea drilling in the Gulf of Mexico until the
reasons for the spill were investigated and determined. He appointed the
National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore
Drilling, which was to come up with its findings by Jan. 11. Unsurprisingly,
the moratorium, although considered very short by environmental experts, was
quickly aborted as the administration backed down in response to angry rants
from the oil industry.
The Oil Pollution Act was passed, and a $20 billion fund was set up to
compensate victims of the corporate-made disaster. Although $20 billion may
appear large, it is a drop in the bucket when it comes to paying for the actual
damages. On Jan. 9, Louisiana officials reported that large sections of the
state’s coastline are still “highly oiled.” (CNN, Jan. 9)
Huge plumes of oil remain far below the surface, while entire industries have
been abandoned.
The government and BP have moved to limit big business liability in two ways.
First, in direct violation of the Oil Pollution Act, the rules under which
compensation is being paid greatly limit the amount that can be collected.
“It will be difficult, if not impossible for claimants to get full
compensation for their damages unless they have a crystal ball,” says
Richard Shore, who worked hard to collect damages from the Exxon Valdez oil
spill. (Huffington Post, Aug. 3)
The second method is more devious, and involves the recently released
commission report. The study rightly concludes that BP’s misdeeds are not
limited to them alone: “The blowout was not the product of a series of
aberrational decisions made by a rogue industry or government officials that
could not have been anticipated or expected to occur again. Rather, the root
causes are systemic.” (AP, Jan.6)
However, the oil drillers are confident that they will never be held truly
accountable as an industry. By blaming the oil drilling industry, the
government has effectively taken the heat off BP, which the capitalist markets
immediately recognized. Thus, the rise in BP stock.
The capitalist class is confident that their ruse to protect BP and other big
polluters will work because they believe that they are invincible and that the
government will never hold them accountable for their countless crimes against
humanity and the planet itself. They can keep on raking in megaprofits and
putting safety and concern for the environment last, with relative impunity,
unless there is a struggle waged by working people, environmentalists and other
progressive people to push them back.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
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