To no one's surprise, BP's official report on the gulf oil spill claims that it is only partially responsible for the blow-out that killed 11 rig workers and unleashed the greatest environmental disaster in American history. The carefully worded report claims that Halliburton and Transocean both contributed to the blow-out and eventual spill. Both Halliburton and Transocean strongly refute the claims made by BP and cite obvious omissions from the report relative to normal oil rig procedures.
The legal and political battles over if and how BP will be forced to pay for the Gulf Oil Spill are just beginning. It will be years, if not decades, before all of the legal battles are settled quietly out of court. The only certainties are that 11 oil workers are dead and that the vast majority of the people who were negatively impacted by the spill will never be adequately compensated for their pain.
The U.S. government, BP and big oil in general will continue to move forward with business as usual. There will be some grandstanding and a few politicians will express disgust and anger at the developments, but it's safe to assume that they're now inevitable. The leak has been stopped and oil is no longer spewing into the Gulf. Less oil than expected actually reached the beaches of the Gulf and miraculously, all of the seafood in the Gulf is now safe to eat. What happened to the millions of barrels of oil and gas that were unnaturally released into the Gulf? No one knows, apparently. Or at least, it doesn't matter anymore.
There is no more oil spilling, so no more sensational media coverage or reassurances that responsible parties will do their part to make things right. Now it's all going to be a legal and political battle, played out behind the scenes with very little public knowledge of the goings on. Soon, a new national emergency will draw everyone's attention and that will be that.
The legal and political battles over if and how BP will be forced to pay for the Gulf Oil Spill are just beginning. It will be years, if not decades, before all of the legal battles are settled quietly out of court. The only certainties are that 11 oil workers are dead and that the vast majority of the people who were negatively impacted by the spill will never be adequately compensated for their pain.
The U.S. government, BP and big oil in general will continue to move forward with business as usual. There will be some grandstanding and a few politicians will express disgust and anger at the developments, but it's safe to assume that they're now inevitable. The leak has been stopped and oil is no longer spewing into the Gulf. Less oil than expected actually reached the beaches of the Gulf and miraculously, all of the seafood in the Gulf is now safe to eat. What happened to the millions of barrels of oil and gas that were unnaturally released into the Gulf? No one knows, apparently. Or at least, it doesn't matter anymore.
There is no more oil spilling, so no more sensational media coverage or reassurances that responsible parties will do their part to make things right. Now it's all going to be a legal and political battle, played out behind the scenes with very little public knowledge of the goings on. Soon, a new national emergency will draw everyone's attention and that will be that.
