BP claims a lack of big spills has hurt oil spill cleanup

Most recently, Tom Costello interviewed BP Exploration and Production Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles on the “Today” show regarding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Specifically, he asked Suttles for his reaction to the rapidly circulating info that oil spill cleanup technology is woefully behind the times, making the oil spill cleanup painfully inefficient. Suttles’ response is that it takes oil spills to advance the cleanup technology. “There have been so few big spills,” he told Costello, “and events have not driven the technology change.”

Article Source: BP claims a lack of big spills has hurt oil spill cleanup

An oil spill will motivate BP to have the right cleanup technology?

The lack of foresight by BP on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill – or lack of sufficient motivation to invest in preventative oil spill cleanup technology actions – is clear. What is also obvious is the financial effect the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has had on BP and the economies of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. As reported by NBC New York, BP has already spent $1.6 billion on the spill response and related claims. Projections for future costs and liabilities extend into the $60 to $70 billion range, although the final figure will depend upon knowing the full extent of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill damage. BP's loss in share price isn't even considered in this. Their market capitalization has fallen around 50 percent. It is easy to imagine BP CEO Tony Hayward barking “I need money now”, but all the local economies need it even more. The cost to local economies which were very damaged by the oil spill will also reach to the bill! ions of dollars, experts predict.

I really am the Gulf of Mexico walrus

Dealing with an oil spill isn't BP's main priority. Otherwise they would have been prepared for this spill. It was reported by the Associated Press that the 582-page regional oil spill cleanup plan for the Gulf of Mexico region and a shorter document addressing the specific Deepwater Horizon incident are littered with “mistakes and erroneous assumptions.” Among these are incorrect contact info for consulted marine life specialists (one of whom died in 2005, which was four years before the larger document was filed). But not being able to contact sources about all of the specific needs of marine life in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico is maybe for the best, as BP is claiming that the walrus is found there. Walruses tend to live in cold-water areas like Alaska, not within the Gulf of Mexico. In a weak defense, Doug Suttles claimed the document specifically labeled for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill addressed “all impacted species,” rather tha! n ones that really inhabit the region. On BP's part, this is illogical.

Need more oil spills to advance technology? Try doing the math, BP

As outlined by Wikipedia there are 49 recorded oil spills worldwide given that the year 2000. Of those, 24 occurred within the United States. If that is apparently “too few oil spills,” then BP needs to go back to school for a healthy dose of perspective and basic reasoning skills. Check out the Rachel Maddow video below if you need help, BP – she points out some of the major U.S. spills on a map.

Find a lot more details on this topic

NBC New York

nbcnewyork.com/news/breaking/BP_has_plenty_of_money_to_pay_spill_damages-96366344.html

NOLA.com

nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/06/as_bp_promised_the_walruses_ar.html

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_spills