Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Oil Spill -- A technological failure of epic proportion

The oil spill off the Coast of Louisiana is natural disaster that is a result of many technological failures by British Petroleum in general and by the company that owned the rig.

The primary cause of the oil spill disaster is the British Petroleum   management pushed to continue to make huge profits in the tune of millions per day over implementing and testing safety and security measures to protect the environment and it's employees.

There is an alarming number of industries (banking for example) that have been allowed to focus only on profits, the results  have been catastrophic for consumers; and this trend will continue until consumers vote with their dollars. I believe management can balance making profits while providing safety and protection for the environment.

After reviewing British Petroleum summary of what caused the disaster, it is clear that safety was secondary and Government over site and enforcement was lacking at best. The overall set up of the oil rig (which is true across the oil industry) lacks the automatic kill to the oil well that is used in most countries in Europe. This whole incident high lights how far behind the world the US is in regards to developing and managing energy.

The main issue related to the oil disaster is mechanism called the blow out preventer. The oil ring owner and
British Petroleum knew there was a problem with this device, that was never addressed.  The systems used to measure and test oil pressure to prevent an explosion failed along with emergency disconnect system. The failure of all these systems is not coincidence, but systemic. Obviously the government decision to provide waivers on this project is tragic.

British Petroleum, US government, and the American people have a huge price to pay for such a deep failure. I hope the oil industry specifically cleans itself up and we, the American consumer demand more from companies we deal with. Hopefully, the tide will turn in the right direction.

1 comment:

Marketing communications company said...

Oil spill was a technical error. It was their team error. It was a loss to the company.