Why are the Americans and media blaming BP for oil spill?

[Wildcat]

Is that not a slightly blinkered view? You may not like their politics but it doesn't automatically make them 100% wrong for all time!

 

In my experience they are though! I am not discounting the view just the credibility of those sources. Apart from (and it is a pretty feeble argument) Obama saying British Petroleum, instead of BP plc there is no evidence at all that Obama is anti-british.

[Wildcat]

Rigs that are producing oil may continue to do so. New drilling has been suspended. That puts about 50,000 jobs at risk.

 

I don't know how much it costs to take a drilling rig out of use - but I bet it's not a cheap option and I've no doubt htat the owners of the driling rigs will want to get them back into use as soon as possible. Just as soon as they can get them somewhere (other than the Gulf of Mexico) where they are permitted to use them.

 

40,000 jobs temporarily at risk, but as you say Oil companies are rediverting their funds to other oil fields so the drilling will go on elsewhere creating jobs outside the gulf.

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703303904575292210472764880.html

 

Personally I think the moratorium sensible almost everyone (outside the republican party) think the regulations are criminally weak and need to be toughened up. Also Obama needs to look at the regulatory authorities, the worrying revelations about BP's Atlantis rig missing 90% of its safety documents and still being allowed to drill is the tip of an iceburg that also needs to be addressed to prevent a recurrence. It will take some time to do this and 6 months seems reasonable. The impact of the moratorium sounds a lot but is only 4% of deep sea gulf oil revenue, costs that can easily be absorbed by an industry that makes huge profits.

 

Interesting some of the points from the article. It would appear the levy on spill mitigation that has quadrupled is on the whole industry not just BP. The criticisms of Obama for directing the blame and costs for this solely on BP are misdirected.

[Tony]

A little perspective is in order. Missing documents are not the same as missing safety standards. Now we all seem to agree that the industry opinion of American standards is pish poor but the people who rely on the industry directly or indirectly can take no comfort from shutting down a crucial sector of an industry in case a one in a million incident happens before things are straightened out.

 

Katrina should be remembered. The hurricane caused untold damage, but the real deep and lasting harm was caused by the follow up action.

 

The damage to people will far exceed any contingent theoretical damage from another incident.

[Rupert_Baehr]

40,000 jobs temporarily at risk, but as you say Oil companies are rediverting their funds to other oil fields so the drilling will go on elsewhere creating jobs outside the gulf.

 

That's not a lot of consolation to those communities where the people who lose their jobs live. The Governor Of Louisiana (and, it appears many of those likely to lose their jobs) think that once the jobs have gone, they're unlikely to return for a long time. - What are those people to do until the jobs come back?

 

When Corus 'mothballed' their factory in Teesside were those who lost (or are about to lose) their jobs less upset because it would provide or protect work for steelworkers in India?

 

The people in LA don't seem to be consoled by the fact that people elsewhere will get new jobs: "Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph said the coast's oilfield workers deserve recognition. The way the situation is being handled “makes us feel like lesser Americans,” she said.

 

“Mr. President, you were looking for someone's butt to kick,” she said. “You're kicking ours.”

 

...Personally I think the moratorium sensible almost everyone (outside the republican party) think the regulations are criminally weak and need to be toughened up. Also Obama needs to look at the regulatory authorities, the worrying revelations about BP's Atlantis rig missing 90% of its safety documents and still being allowed to drill is the tip of an iceburg that also needs to be addressed to prevent a recurrence. It will take some time to do this and 6 months seems reasonable...

 

Starting from the end of that paragraph: If 6 months is reasonable, then given that Obama was inaugurated 17 months ago, what has he been doing? He doesn't seem to have been particularly concerned about poor regulation in the oil industry. (He didn't do much as a Senator about regulation in the banking industry, either.) As Bobby Jindal said: "People in Louisiana shouldn't have to lose their jobs because federal officials failed to properly regulate the oil-and-gas industry."

 

I've no idea whether the regulations governing the oil industry are too lax, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the regulators weren't doing much of a job and that may well be attributed to gross under-funding and under-manning of the regulatory body. (I worked in a [supposedly heavily] regulated industry in the US 20 - odd years ago. The rules were all there and there was nothing wrong with them. Unfortunately, the regulatory body had insufficient manpower and insufficient money to enforce them - Some of the abuses were amazing and the number of people who were actually held accountable was pitifully low.)

 

...The impact of the moratorium sounds a lot but is only 4% of deep sea gulf oil revenue, costs that can easily be absorbed by an industry that makes huge profits.

 

But the outcry is not about damage to the oil industry, it's about the damage suffered by Gulf Coast states, by small communities and by many thousands of people who may well lose their jobs.

 

Louisiana is a very poor State. It relies heavily on the taxes it raises from oil being pumped ashore (they won't be affected much in the short term by the moratorium) but it also relies on the jobs of those who work in the oil industry and on the jobs those people generate for people working in support industries. A cutback in offshore drilling can indeed be absorbed by the oil industry. - It may cost money to mover drilling rigs elsewhere, but the industry has money.

 

It will be very difficult for the Gulf Coast States (Particularly LA, MS and ALA) to absorb the job losses.

 

Interesting some of the points from the article. It would appear the levy on spill mitigation that has quadrupled is on the whole industry not just BP. The criticisms of Obama for directing the blame and costs for this solely on BP are misdirected.

 

Agreed. The whole of the oil industry should (IMO) be expected to put money aside in a reserve to deal with possible future disasters. That money will come from money which would otherwise have been paid to shareholders (reduced dividends) and from customers (increased charges per barrel for oil products.)

[Tony]

People aren't happy.

 

The Gulf Economic Survival Team

 

Chambers of Commerce, business organizations and local elected officials in coastal Louisiana are banding together to urge President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to modify the six-month offshore drilling moratorium in an effort to save over 20,000 jobs in the region.

 

The Gulf Economic Survival Team (GEST) has been formed under the leadership of Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Scott Angelle at the request of Governor Bobby Jindal. The team’s message is simple: The Administration's May 28 order, suspending all existing offshore drilling in depths greater than 500 feet for a minimum of six months, will cause irreparable harm to Louisiana’s energy service industry and drive a stake through the heart of coastal communities already suffering tremendously from the environmental and economic impacts of the BP oil spill.

 

Through letters, resolutions and personal appeals, GEST is requesting that the President and Secretary Salazar reduce the moratorium to no more than 30 days, during which time thorough rig safety inspections can be conducted by federal inspectors, greatly reducing job losses and negative economic impact on our region while ensuring a safer industry.

 

 

 

 

The rest of their website is worth a good look. It's a very well put together and cogent argument against Obama's knee-jerk (emphasis on the jerk) reaction.

 

 

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[poppins]

In my experience they are though! I am not discounting the view just the credibility of those sources. Apart from (and it is a pretty feeble argument) Obama saying British Petroleum, instead of BP plc there is no evidence at all that Obama is anti-british.

 

Dosen't matter if he is anti-British, it's the Yanks votes that count, Brits can't vote for him.

[JFKvsNixon]

Dosen't matter if he is anti-British, it's the Yanks votes that count, Brits can't vote for him.

 

It may matter to the mothers of the 295 UK military personnel that have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001, helping out their ally.

[Rupert_Baehr]

Dosen't matter if he is anti-British, it's the Yanks votes that count, Brits can't vote for him.

 

OOOOOH!

 

'Happiness is a Yankee headin' North!' (typical bumper sticker where I live [when I'm not here ]) When I moved to Vicksburg, MS I found I was readily accepted - they thought I was a Brit and when I explained where I originate from I was treated as a sort of 'harmless idiot' . As one of my friends said: "Foreigner is OK, - we do like tourists. 'Brit' isn't a real problem, but since you're not really one of those, you're 'fahn, jes fahn' ... Jes' as long as you're not a dem Yenkee!:hihi:

 

I suspect that there are more than one or two people in the South who are not particularly impressed with 'that Yankee President's' performance. - Nor are they too impressed with his calling them 'folks'. Obama isn't a real Yankee (he's a pineapple) but he's spent a lot of time in the North and - somehow - I don't think he's going to impress too many Southerners by pretending to be 'a good ole boy' - 'Bubba Barak' somehow doesn't cut it.

 

The Brits may not be able to vote, but an awful lot of people in the South can vote. If they lose their jobs, if they lose their homes, if they can't feed their families and if they think he's patronising them then perhaps he may lose their votes.

[poppins]

It may matter to the mothers of the 295 UK military personnel that have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001, helping out their ally.

 

I didn't mean it like it sounded...I'm anti-Oboma in the worst way

 

I meant that (HE) wouldn't care, as it's the votes he cares about first.

[JFKvsNixon]

I didn't mean it like it sounded...I'm anti-Oboma in the worst way

 

Ok I'm sorry for misunderstanding you and jumping the gun.