Tuesday, June 15, 2010

British Petroleum - Oil Spill - Seperate Standards for Rich and Poor

On 20th April 2010, a massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico at a British Petroleum leased rig threw BP in deep trouble. US Government has launched criminal investigations, share prices fell over 16% and bad media caused massive destruction to BP’s brand image. Until recently, over Sterling 40bn-a third of its value has been wiped off!

(Download US Story http://bit.ly/dm3cN0 )
(Download BP Story http://bit.ly/QOPj8 )

US side of the story tells us that the spill is the worst environmental disaster in the US history. The oil has covered more than 70 miles of Louisiana’s coastline. Whereas according to Britons, Americans are furious with BP and the Gulf of Mexico is poorly regulated compared to Norway’s oilfields or the British North Sea.

Some commentators say that such spills are common in poorer parts of the world. Vast areas of Ecuador, Colombia and Peru have been “devastated”. A report in this week’s “The Week” suggests that

If this accident has happened off the coast of Africa or Indonesia, BP would probably have avoided much publicity and escaped starting a clean-up for many months”

Seperate standards…………. for Rich and Poor!