Cornwall ON – BP is throwing 20 Billion Dollars at one of the biggest oil spills in history after meeting with President Obama. Somethings money just can’t fix, but BP is trying to mea culpa with the moula.
BP’s top executives entered their long-awaited summit with President Barack Obama hoping for better — as in, less is more. They left with fully a quarter of the firm’s estimated $80-billion in tangible assets blown away. And that first $20 billion, the company agreed, may ultimately be only a down payment on the compensation claims still to come, when the full impact of the Deepwater Horizon spill is known.
The money is being targeted at victims. Can seagulls spend the green? Nope. How many species will become extinct? This has to be the canary in the coal mine and no company can ever again try to cheap out in safety in this sort of manner.
What do you think Canada? You can post your comments below.
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The problem, Jamie, is that ultimately it is the consumer (American and world-wide) who are going to have to pay for all this, (higher prices at the pumps for everyone) and the actual perpetrators are likely to get off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
Only when laws are changed so that the actual perpetrators of this kind of atrocity (i.e. the decision makers who authorised the drilling to proceed without the appropriate safety equipment) face bankrupting fines and jail time will we see any attempt at true corporate responsibility.
There may be some changes because of this, we saw changes in the US after Enron. Sarbaines Oxley law was introduced for financial institutions and also affects companies in Canada with US operations. But it is too early to see if any BP leaders will get time in jail like Enron’s.
Something to consider, having spent many years in petrochemical I think it is safe to say most of this is a ruse.
The US has just found a magnitude of wealth in Afghanistan. However with China holding there debt it is difficult to peruse mining and research. The war effort is not working so well on the revenue front so like the oil fields of Kuwait an ecological disaster is created. In this case 20Billion is paid out to the US, and an additional 100 million to cover losses and wages and the like as a result of the spill.
What is the 20 billion going to pay for? BP has committed to clean everything up (I know I know). Could the 20 billion be front money to cover the interest portion of the debt which in turn will allow the US to borrow more money to hire places like KBR to research and begin to devastate Afghanistan for minerals? Wait and see if there is a new leader. It would be the same scenario as Kuwait; Firstly Saddam was placed in power by the US as a puppet. He threatened to fix oil prices then all of a sudden he is now a villain.
What does BP get out of this, why a new rig of course I think in August? It appears the leak cannot be contained. With the environmental impact goading the environmentalists to rectify the problem I bet Obama lifts the restrictions and even by-passes some protocols so BP can drill and reduce the pressure and cap the leak.
Smee: Finally, I agree with you. NIce job.
Phase one begins, Deepwater Drilling Ban Lifted by New Orleans Federal Judge.
This is what happens when the federal judges are elected and the main income of your area is oil. Who do you think they will side with, Obama or the people who elect you.
Don;t believe for a minute the green people even have a say at that level. They are only here for lower level people with no influence and in need of something to believe in.
Any comments?