BP looking like a bad bet suddenly

[Olf]

Amazing how quickly things can go wrong and as much as it pains me to say it I really do think this could be a killer blow for BP either triggering a distressed take-over or worse. I really don't think America will allow BP to get away with this like Exxon did in Alaska.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8650620....

For those of you that can, have a look at your pension share distributions...

[Tony*T3]

Olf said:

Amazing how quickly things can go wrong and as much as it pains me to say it I really do think this could be a killer blow for BP either triggering a distressed take-over or worse. I really don't think America will allow BP to get away with this like Exxon did in Alaska.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8650620....

For those of you that can, have a look at your pension share distributions...

Insurance would cover it surely, therefore its LLoyds that gets a pasteing?

[SmoothRB]

Should probably look at liabilities in this case.

They have some big direct costs such as drilling the relief well, but how does insurance work in this situation?

The blow-out may not even have been their fault as such.

How much does it hurt shareholder value?

[SmoothRB]

Tony*T3 said:

Olf said:

Amazing how quickly things can go wrong and as much as it pains me to say it I really do think this could be a killer blow for BP either triggering a distressed take-over or worse. I really don't think America will allow BP to get away with this like Exxon did in Alaska.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8650620....

For those of you that can, have a look at your pension share distributions...

Insurance would cover it surely, therefore its LLoyds that gets a pasteing?

You would think so.

But what about if they are dragged through federal courts later and hit with a punative fine?

[Olf]

The fine for texas city ended up at 600 million if I remember correctly and the original punitive damages for on Exxon Valdez was 2.5 billion.

[Olf]

SmoothRB said:

Should probably look at liabilities in this case.

They have some big direct costs such as drilling the relief well, but how does insurance work in this situation?

The blow-out may not even have been their fault as such.

How much does it hurt shareholder value?

It's reputational damage you have to consider as well. BP have big commitments in the Gulf of Mexico. This on top of Texas city looks frankly careless whatever the reasons. What are the chances the US Government say, well thanks but no thanks?

Edited by Olf on Thursday 29th April 12:48

[leon_t]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Would have thought it all depends on the terms of the contract, who was responsible for maintenance of the rig, function testing of the safety devices etc.

[SmoothRB]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

It could or could not be.

Depends what happened.

Don't forget there are 11 dead and their bodies will probably never be found. That is the sad thing.

With the rig on the sea bed and 11 witnesses dead it is possible any inquest will be inconclusive.

[Olf]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Well simply put - at the end of the day whose oil is that heading towards the coast? It's not Transocean's. BP will have to foot the bill for this, one way or the other.

[Olf]

leon_t said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Would have thought it all depends on the terms of the contract, who was responsible for maintenance of the rig, function testing of the safety devices etc.

That's all academic now in the face of 210,000 gallons a day gushing into the gulf with no quick way to switch it off.

[SmoothRB]

Looks like BP are trying to blame Transocean.

"The head of BP Group told CNN's Brian Todd in an exclusive interview Wednesday that the accident could have been prevented, and he focused blame on rig owner Transocean.
CEO Tony Hayward said that Transocean's blowout preventer failed to operate before the explosion."

[Olf]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

That's, err, optimistic.

[hornetrider]

I'm very surprised there's not more discussion on this - it is looking like becoming the world's largest ever oil catastrophe. Or have I missed another thread?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/76533...

[Fittster]

BP do seem to be either an unlucky firm or one who don't focus on safety.

[Political Pain]

Because one half decent hurricane will do the job of clearing up the mess.

It is light crude, the gulf will shrug it off easily.

The hurricane will just deposit oily rain all over the southern states causing a few accidents and dirty cars.

Natural forces will deal with this.

I expect that somewhere on the internet there is site with hurricane forecasts.

[jshell]

Fittster said:

BP do seem to be either an unlucky firm or one who don't focus on safety.

Depends on the environment, the oil industry safety standards in the Gulf of Mexico are fairly lax in comparison to European standards. Having worked extensively with both, I'm always surprised at what the GoM guys see as acceptable.

[cannondale]

Should there not be some sort of worst case scenario contingency plan.

For example if the rig sinks causing the well to become untapped or breached surely there should be a plan in place to stem the flow or divert the oil into containers on the surface?

We all know how dangerous the flow of uncontrolled oil can be.

[Fittster]

jshell said:

Fittster said:

BP do seem to be either an unlucky firm or one who don't focus on safety.

Depends on the environment, the oil industry safety standards in the Gulf of Mexico are fairly lax in comparison to European standards. Having worked extensively with both, I'm always surprised at what the GoM guys see as acceptable.

Without being an expert on the oil industry I was think more generally. Last oil indusry issue I can think of was BP's Texas plant going bang.

An odd problem is to be expected but when the same firm is at the centre of the issues you start to wonder.

[jshell]

cannondale said:

Should there not be some sort of worst case scenario contingency plan.

For example if the rig sinks causing the well to become untapped or breached surely there should be a plan in place to stem the flow or divert the oil into containers on the surface?

We all know how dangerous the flow of uncontrolled oil can be.

There is, it's the BOP - blow out preventer. For some reason it hasn't operated properly this time!

The BOP is an utterly crucial piece of kit.

[cannondale]

jshell said:

cannondale said:

Should there not be some sort of worst case scenario contingency plan.

For example if the rig sinks causing the well to become untapped or breached surely there should be a plan in place to stem the flow or divert the oil into containers on the surface?

We all know how dangerous the flow of uncontrolled oil can be.

There is, it's the BOP - blow out preventer. For some reason it hasn't operated properly this time!

The BOP is an utterly crucial piece of kit.

Should there not be a plan for when this happens as well though? It seems ridiculous that this massive disaster could happen at another drilling site and the 'what if' question hasn't been thought out thoroughly enough.