by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The recent oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico that polluted the shores of Louisiana is definitely not unique to BP and it will 'happen again', of that can be no doubt. It could even happen in British waters.
Activists demand that the UK government 'wake up' to the dangers of offshore drilling and outlaw the practice and I am sure we can but second that motion despite the fact that we all still need oil for so many things and very few substitutes are about.
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill was the result of a 'dangerous and risky' industry and of risky and dangerous industry practices and not unique to BP, activists have warned as the United Kingdom prepares to open up more of its waters to offshore energy companies.
In the pursuit of profit and for the fact that they wanted to bring the well on stream fast – we are running out of oil in most places – they saved on putting in a second blow-out preventer and – bingo – the Shitake mushrooms hit the fan.
The worst spill in US history occurred after an explosion on a BP offshore oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven workers were killed in the blast while the spill continued for 87 days, leaking more than 200 million tonnes of crude oil into the sea, and that is but a conservative estimate. Some estimates are talking of the annual production of Iran.
In an internal investigation, released recently, BP attempted to spread the blame amongst other contractors working on the rig. A tactic Greenpeace and others say is aimed at reducing its sole vulnerability to future legal actions being brought by US fishermen and other businesses who have suffered as a result of the spill.
The spill has already cost the company around US$9 billion so far in clean-up and compensation claims.
Despite the investigation highlighting risky practices in the deepwater drilling sector, activists say the oil industry is attempting to keep the focus on BP.
The oil industry is making every attempt to make it sound like the entire issue was only BPs problem, but this is not so. The report shows the complexity of deepwater drilling and its vulnerability – accidents are happening all the time and, therefore, it is but a ticking time bomb and a serious accident waiting to happen. We cannot afford that.
How many more crisis need to happen before government wakes up to its responsibilities. What happened to BP is not unique. It is something that is going to happen again. Deepwater oil production is a dangerous industry and government andn industry must stop pretending that it is otherwise. Oil companies cannot be trusted to put the environment and safety ahead of the pursuit of profit.
Therefore an immediate ban on all deepwater operations in British waters – and elsewhere – must be introduced. The British one the UK government can do easily if they let themselves not be browbeaten by industry lobbyists; the international one can only come via international bodies.
While we still need oil to run our economies and all that jazz we cannot, of that I am sure, afford it to be produced under such conditions.
© 2010
