BRITISH PETROLEUM Environmental Audit
BRITISH PETROLEUM Environmental Audit
BRITISH PETROLEUM Environmental Audit
Prepared by:
Purugganan, Romie Jon B.
Wackisan, Honorato M.
1 |Page Environmental Audit
The Company
Name of Company: British Petroleum (BP) Inc.
Site Location: Gulf of Mexico near Mississippi River Delta, United States
Casualties: 11 Killed
17 Injured
Volume: 4.9 million barrels (210,000,000 U.S. gallons; 780,000 cubic meters)
Background
Why is oil found in the Gulf of Mexico?
The Gulf is a sedimentary basin formed during Jurassic and Cretaceous periods of rising and lowering sea level which
buried organic material and formed natural gas.
Oil-rich states surround the Gulf of Mexico. These states are Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and Louisiana.
- BP PLC was charged with 11 counts of felony manslaughter, one count of felony obstruction of
Congress, a violation of 18 U.S.C. 1505 and violations of the Clean Water {33 U.S.C. 1319(c)(1)(A) and Migratory Bird
Treaty Acts {16 U.S.C. 703}.
- Transocean LTD was charged with violating the CWA {33 U.S.C. 1319(c)(1)(A)}.
The explosion was sudden, it took less than five minutes for the rig to ignite on fire.
Pre-explosion Problems
There had been several small fires and spills at Deepwater Horizon
The metal casing was known to have issues in 2009 and BP was warned that it could collapse under high
pressure.
BP officials rejected a safety proposal to install casing liner and casing stabilizers which cost $7 million and 10+
hour of labour.
In an email BP engineer Brian Morel called Deepwater a "nightmare rig" due to these cavalier safety risks.
To shut down the well a series of “casing integrity tests” was done. This ensures that there is no pressure
leaking.
When the crew tried to fit a top plug, it did not sit properly. This clearly indicated that the bottom cement seal
could be leaking pressure into the well.
A failed “Negative Pressure Test”, indicated that there was pressure build up
In a final stage of shutting down the well, the rig crew replaced the heavy drilling mud with sea water. However
the mud flowed out faster than the water, which was not normal.
◦ The rig continued to run under risk. Putting profit over the safety of workers.
◦ The management of BP ignored the “Red Flags” from their procedural tests.
Insulation and
water-proofing of
feathers destroyed
Hypothermia
Dehydration
Starvation
Damage to adrenal
Stress
May experience respiratory problems from breathing fumes from oil or droplets of dispersed oil, causing
damage to the airways and lungs – congestion, pneumonia, emphysema and even death
BP Exploration and Production Inc. (BP) has agreed to plead guilty to felony manslaughter, environmental crimes
and obstruction of Congress and pay a record $4 billion in criminal fines and penalties for its conduct leading to the 2010
Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Transocean to Pay Record $18 Billion in Civil Penalties and $400 Million Criminal Fines.