CBS is now reporting that Tony Hayward, embattled yacht racing CEO of BPplc, will be stepping down in October, moving to take a job at the company's joint venture in Russia, TNK-BP. I guess they figure he can't screw that up much, or else the Ruskies will ship him off to Siberia for a little ice dancing and potato peeling. Bloomberg is also reporting that American Bob Dudley will replace Hayward. Brought in on the heels of Sir John Browne's disastrous tenure, everyone had high hopes that Hayward would usher in a new era of corporate responsibility and safe operations for BP. Unfortunately, the DNA of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, which exploited Iran's oil resources for 70 years enslaving tens of thousands of Iranians, then compelling the US to use the CIA to overthrow a democratically elected prime minister in order to reinstate a corrupt Shah runs deep in BP. Even with the new corporate name, along with the green and yellow daisy logo, they can't seem to break out of robber-barron mode. Hopefully, Dudley can have some influence, but as long as their Chairman of the Board is an aristocratic Swede who looks at all others as "small people", I don't have a lot of hope.
I'll refrain from calling Hayward a Toffee-Nosed, Yacht-Racing-Snob as others have called him. I'll just continue to hope that without him, BP will at some point have a chance gain a soul and remember the now 26 Americans who have been killed in two BP accidents, 5 years apart. Safe operations and profit are not mutually exclusive. You just need a management who cares enough to make it so.
Not sure about about the rest of America, but up here in the north woods, we get a healthy dose of BP TV commercials showing us what a wonderful, deeply caring company they are. These commercials are complete with local good 'ol boys working with BP folks to restore the Gulf. They end with the BP guy saying "We will make this right."
I don't really know what that means. About the only thing BP has done to make this right is kick Tony's ass to the curb.
It seems that there is really a measurable difference between BP and Amoco as many would always put a comparison between these companies. Whatever it is, whoever is better, it is impossible to undo things. What is possible and reachable in hands as of now is coping up and adaptation. Many have testified the positive stand of Amoco against BP. This is not an issue of degradation to BP, instead a great opportunity to improve and compete in high-security companies and if favored by fortune, be on top of the list. There are certain things that are not within the scope of the management, instead ordinary workers are destined to see them. This is a call to the management not just of BP's but to others as well to be broad-minded and try to listen to the ideals and cry of your workers even if it came from the lowest level of rank.
Hopefully through the leadership of its new CEO, Bob Dudley, BP's name will live a positive mark to the sights of the people outside and specially inside of the company.
A new journey is set for Hayward. New chance and new life is what awaits him on the other side of the road. But on that side of the road, together with the wellness are new hopes of those he left behind that things will be different and they will see a better Hayward.
Obama's Gulf War –
"Tony Hayward Redux"
Debris is causing delays
Who dropped his golf balls in Dudley's relief well
While Dudley and crew were avoiding the storm?
Like failing to put the cap back on the toothpaste,
Neglecting to cap off the well is bad form.
Things were supposed to improve without Tony.
Did no one foresee Tony's golf ball debris?
We all had hoped that a Dudley'd do better,
Not "It's not a big problem" just standard BP.
How rotten of Tony to leave all that clutter.
Damn inconsiderate, but Bob bites his tongue.
He knows their dispersant, just like Agent Orange,
Will sicken the aged and displace the young.
Class action lawsuits are bound to be costly.
Corexit exposure doesn't always go well.
No matter what Lisa and Tony were claiming,
It's never been known to help two tear-olds spell.
Bob Carlson
www.politicalboondoggles.com
7/30/10
To 'Is the EPA Playing Dumb on Dispersants?'
To 'BP’s Macondo Oil Well ‘Kill’ Delayed Because of Storm Debris'
To 'EPA Accused of Covering Up Effects of Dispersant'
To 'Tony Hayward's parting shot:
'I'm too busy to attend Senate hearing''
To 'BP admits top kill mud was toxic:
Tony Hayward Senate testimony might prove to be perjury '
To 'EPA's Lax Lisa Jackson'
To 'British Petroleum Incompetence'
Honestly with the incestuous behavior of international business, how on earth can anyone declare "my multi-national conglomerate" is better than yours!!
I think you might consider taking your own advice about said "ranting like a rabid lunatic". Is your argument then, that since US companies have been bad actors at some times in the past, that then BP can feel perfectly free to destroy an eco-system and damage the economies of 5 states? The damage is well into the tens of billions of dollars, effecting millions of people. Union Carbide was a bad actor, no question. Chevron should be called to account for its African operations. However, those unrelated issues don't somehow give foreign companies free license to violate our laws and regulations and wreak havoc.
I can't and won't believe that things were different in Canada. I too worked on a number of Amoco leases, and I encountered a number of great people (professionals, each of them) and a number of those who took a "git 'er done, no matter what" approach. I mentioned the Lodgepole blowout previously, and I recall that the supervisor on site at the time did not have a reputation of being a careless guy. But the events that ultimately led up to the blowout were found to be the result of a flawed corporate culture, including poor communication between the office and the field, and errors in judgement, both in the office and the field, and of course a "complacent" safety awareness. About the only good thing that did come out of it was that much of the training and planning that goes into well design and execution nowadays stems directly from this blowout, not just in Canada but in much of the world. I think one of the things we have been discussing with respect to the BP Gulf disaster is just this - a corporate culture that ultimately failed, and a "complacent" safety culture with the consequences we can all see. I think the scary thing about this is that, given the results of investigations to date, this could have been prevented, but it could have happened to just about anyone else out there. But then again, it did happen to the biggest player, and the one with the worst track record. We can only hope that the industry at large will learn from from this disaster, and we never see it again, anywhere.
Once again, Bob, thanks for your insights, and this venue for discussion.
Regards,
WHAT?! BP is replacing their head puppet for another one? Does this make decades of BP misconduct O.K.? Just find a new fall guy and everything is back to normal i guess.
Lets hope this new CEO doesn't decide to overthrow some 3rd world country for their resources. Wait, what am I saying? This IS the oil and gas industry i am talking about after all...
eljefe, seems the question for BP now is: ' how do we start to do as good a job as Texas ' in spill response and preparation as discussed on public radio today:
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kera/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1680493/North.Texas/Texas.Team.Ready.For.Oil.Spills
who knew that Texas had already cleaned up 1000 spills this year ?
who knew Texas requires notification of a spill within 1 hour ?
who knew Texas had already cleaned up a 500,000 gallon spill this year ?
why aren't the Feds, MMS/BOEM and EPA at least as good as a 1 measly lil ol' state on this :)
You know Bob part of this "corporate greed" gobbledegook is a bit hypocritical. I guess it hurts only when it’s closer to home right? American oil companies have been soiling the planet for years. Just look what they’ve done to the Nigerian coastline. Or the Bhopal Gas disaster – check out how many died there in India. It’s something for which Dow Chemicals which “absorbed” Union Carbide has only admitted diminished responsibility for. At least BP whatever the bunch of f-ing sods they may be, are committed to clearing their own poo and not deflect responsibility.
Warren Anderson the CEO of Union Carbide was never extradited by USA to face charges in India citing "lack of evidence." (This for a country which was convinced there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq on probably much less.)
Union carbide was an American company’s overseas subsidiary which was cutting corners which resulted in the loss of lives and a human tragedy far greater than what’s unfolded in the Gulf of Mexico. It was run and managed by locals just as the Deepwater Horizon was. Two wrongs don’t make a right – but the American penchant for hollering about their tragedy, citing corporate greed is a bit silly.
Either that or that you guys think an American life is somehow more precious than a brown-skinned one taken away by American corporate greed.
Hayward went yachting on father day, the President went golfing – um how is that different? Oh, Hayward wanted his life back and well Warren Anderson’s wife’s "haunted" by the Bhopal tragedy which wasn’t her husband’s fault. Sounds kinda familiar – don’t it:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/01/national/main5204098.shtml
Another commonality is that they both still have a "life." Take things into the wider perspective instead of ranting like a rabid lunatic. Americans have no moral authority to lecture others; even though that does not discount the Gulf tragedy.
Interesting. I was a cementer and frac supervisor way back in the 70s, and Amoco was great to work for. Super safe, great supervisors, never cut any corners. Must have been really different in Canada.
Here ya go: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8465037
I tried embedding it, but I think it's too long.
Bob, do you have video of your Netroots Nation panel on the BP disaster? I watched most of it live and enjoyed hearing you tell it like it is. I'd love to blog on it, but I'd like a link. Thanks!
Bob - I have been following your coverage & comments since the beginning of this fiasco, and I have welcomed your insider's perspective, particularly as your experience parallels my own to a large extent. However I must take issue with the last comment pertaining to Amoco. I recognize that your experience may have been by and large positive but I have worked for service companies in Western Canada for more than 35 years (drilling fluids) and I vividly recall Amoco's motto in the mid '70's as being "Drilling For Kicks" (and they didn't mean fun!). They even had videos that they proudly rolled out to the industry. This was all well & good until the Lodgepole blowout in 1982 that proved to be one of those "seminal events" in the oilpatch. Look back at the investigation done into that event and you will some surprising similarities to what happened in the Gulf (http://schachterblog.blogspot.com/ read "Blowouts - Deja View", and of course the report by Alberta's ERCB). I also recall that Amoco burned down at least 2 other rigs in Western Canada within a few years of the Lodgepole event, so they obviously didn't learn lessons very well. BP has a history and reputation of a poor safety culture, in spite of their public relations efforts (The Green Oil Company, Beyond Petroleum, etc.) and the chickens have come home to roost.
Please. Amoco was acquired in 1998. TWELVE YEARS AGO. I'm not confusing a damn thing. I worked with and for Amoco from the late seventies until they were absorbed by BP. They had a safety culture second to none, and great to work with. BP fired, retired, or made life miserable for the Amoco folks. The record speaks for itself.
Yes, I read in the newspaper where their "safety concerns" were such nuggets of wisdom as "don't carry a cup of tea and a briefcase while walking up and down stairs" (you must keep one hand on the railing).
However, turning off alarms and rushing procedures in the name of lower costs.....all well and good, in their mind. I guess they just don't care about the lives of their serfs.
So Mr. Hayward, you have your life back. Sod off now.
Hayward became CEO in 2007 two years after the first incident mentioned here. There's evidence he tried to change the culture that had led to that. Part of the problem is the history Amoco you've confused with BP.