Evelyn Flores
Professor Ampil
MGMT 3080
October 11, 2023
Case Study
In 2010, there was a blowout from a deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico. The deepwater well
was from the oil giant British Petroleum (BP). There was a loss of control of fluids under
pressure that caused the well to blow out. The blowout caused over 3 million barrels of oil to
spew into the ocean across five Gulf states which were Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi,
and Texas, as well as the lives and health of many people and severely affected the wildlife. BP
was charged billions of dollars for the cause of the blowout.
“Ocean oil slicks covered more than 43,300 square miles, comparable to the total land area of
Louisiana.” (Lawrence et al., 2023, pg. 552) Since the blowout caused millions of barrels of oil
to spew out, it scattered around the ocean and the beaches. The oceans were contaminated with
oil for more than 4 weeks affecting not only the wildlife, but also the sea animals. The fish and
wildlife service recovered carcasses of more than 6,000 birds, 600 turtles, and 150 marine
mammals within a year of the accident. (Lawrence et al., 2023, pg. 553) The turtle deaths
increased from 27,000 to 65,000, Dolphins had four times historic rates of deaths which are
along the Louisiana coast because Louisiana took the worse toll with the most damage. In
addition, bird deaths exceeded 100,000 across 93 species. (Lawrence et al., 2023, pg. 553)
Although the oil spewed out to some beaches, the federal government closed other large areas of
water causing tourists to cancel trips and fishers to cancel plans of fishing because there were
concerns that the fish might be unsafe to eat.
There were golf residents who struggled financially due to the accident from loss of income.
Even homeless people, those who lost their job, those that were unemployed, and poor people
were told to engage in the cleanup after the accident. Louisiana was the most damaged state so
there were 15,795 registered cleanup workers in Louisiana and almost half of them (40%) were
black. (Lawrence et al., 2023, pg. 555). Some onshore workers were recruited through
unemployment programs and from jail work programs. These populations don’t have easy access
to health benefits or health care like others from middle or high class, and they are the most
targeted ones to get recruited for the onshore cleanup. They have a bigger risk of facing health
problems due to the oil and are the least that can receive treatment. BP paid $5.9 billion in
compensation to state and local governments including those for lost tax revenue and $20 billion
in compensation for economic damage to business and individuals. (Lawrence et al., 2023, pg.
553) Although BP paid in compensation, it doesn’t solve the health problems the poor onshore
workers can get.
The onshore workers started becoming sick and reporting health problems from the exposure of
the oil. Some of their health problems included high blood pressure, blood pressures that were
volatile, blood sugar levels, pulmonary problems, and gastrointestinal problems. (Lawrence et
al., 2023, pg. 554) Some patients were even showing signs of memory loss. The National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences decided to begin a study in 2011 following 30,000
members experiencing health problems, from the exposure of oil, for 10 years. After 4 to 8 years
there were reports of a 30% more likely that non cleanup workers to suffer from depression and
other reports showed short-term gastrointestinal effects, long-term skin related issues, and
respiratory effects. (Lawrence et al., 2023, pg. 555)
Not only were there health and environmental impacts, but there were also legal consequences.
The courts were flooded with lawsuits after the accident. BP and 4 of its employees were
charged with criminal charges. They pled guilty and agreed to pay $4 billion, but after the trial
ended the civil suit settled for $8.1 billion in natural resource damage, $5.9 billion in state and
local economic damages, $5.5 billion in Clean Water Act civil penalties. (Lawrence et al., 2023,
pg. 556) There were hundreds of individuals that filed false claims and received prison sentences
for it. Even those who filed false claims went to prison, but BP’s employees didn’t. After a
month of the accident, a footage from the cameras revealed that BP had been dramatically
understating the amount of oil gushing from the well, therefore, BP pleaded guilty. BP did not
only misrepresent the flow rates of oil, but it also had a criminal record of several environmental
crimes. For example, it was involved in the deaths of workers killed in an explosion and a fire at
its Texas city refinery. BP then started selling its energy assets to help with the disaster-related
costs.
After the blowout, The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement
(BOEMRE) panel improved the Minerals Management Service (MMS) drilling inspections in
several ways. They improved the wells with high flow potential to avoid another future blowout
as well as an increase in the use of mechanical and cement barriers. Used integrity test practices
that allowed to identify well control problems. Inserted specific requirements for future training.
According to the article, they also recommended rig engine configurations, “Rig engine
configuration (air intake locations). Assessment and testing of safety devices, particularly on rigs
where air intake locations create possible ignition sources, may decrease the likelihood of
explosions and fatalities in the event of a blowout.”
After reading this case it gave me a mix of emotions. It made me feel empathy for the families
that lost their loved ones from the blowout, all the individuals who dealt with health problems
due to the exposure of the oil, and all the animals that died from it. I also felt disappointment
from the recruitment of the onshore workers. There was a lack of justice, recruiters who were
engaged in the onshore clean up were the poor, the homeless, the unemployed who were chosen
to be the most exposed to the oil. Those that were targeted were the least to receive health
treatment due to loss of income. The blowout caused a disaster.
References
Bromwich, M.R. Gulf Coast Oil Spill Investigation Report. U.S Department of Interior
https://www.doi.gov/ocl/hearings/112/OilSpillInvestigation_101311
Lawrence, A. T., & Weber, J. (2023). Business and Society: Stakeholders, ethics, public policy.
(7th edition). McGraw Hill.