If the deep-water drilling accident that was bound to happen eventually had been caused by a smaller, less well-endowed oil company, the entire world would have been in a much greater mess.
As bad as the Gulf oil spill is, at least BP has the resources to commit to cleaning it up responsibly.
BP is taking a lot of the blame for what is really a systemic problem: Sure BP took cost-cutting risks—as would every oil company in a competitive climate. That is why we need government regulators to ensure that reasonable risk management precautions are carried out by every company, to not only ensure safety but also to ensure them that they all operate in an even playing field where the same rules apply to all.
What happened in the Gulf is that not only did BP cut some corners, which we can assume every other company also cuts to one degree or another; but the government also cut some regulatory corners and did not enforce the risk management protocols it should have.
Presumably getting the regulatory system back into operating order is why President Obama called for the six-month halt on deep-water drilling. The government needs to get its act together!
A disaster like this could happen again if the government does not do its job right, and we won’t be so lucky if next time the company involved is not as well-endowed as BP.
Thank goodness it happened to BP!
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