There has been much in the media lately vilifying "big oil", as if all oil companies are to blame for the recent Gulf spill. So it was a pleasant surprise to see a report by msnbc regarding the safety records of BP and ExxonMobil:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37045263/ns/business-the_new_york_times/
BP:
Quote:
...BP, the nation's biggest oil and gas producer, has a worse health, environment and safety record than many other major oil companies...
ExxonMobil:
Quote:
The industry standard for safety, analysts say, is set by ExxonMobil, which displays an obsessive attention to detail, monitors the smallest spill and imposes scripted procedures on managers.
Before drilling a well, for example, it runs elaborate computer models to test beforehand what the drillers might encounter. The company trains contractors to recognize risky behavior and asks employees for suggestions on how to improve safety. It says it has cut time lost to safety incidents by 12 percent each year since 2000.
Analysts credit that focus, in part, to the aftermath of the 1989 Exxon Valdez grounding, which spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound in Alaska.
"Whatever you think of them, Exxon is now the safest oil company there is," said Amy Myers Jaffe, an energy expert at Rice University.
Exxon learned a hard lesson from the Exxon Valdez disaster, and now BP is getting "schooled" by Deepwater Horizon.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37045263/ns/business-the_new_york_times/
BP:
Quote:
...BP, the nation's biggest oil and gas producer, has a worse health, environment and safety record than many other major oil companies...
ExxonMobil:
Quote:
The industry standard for safety, analysts say, is set by ExxonMobil, which displays an obsessive attention to detail, monitors the smallest spill and imposes scripted procedures on managers.
Before drilling a well, for example, it runs elaborate computer models to test beforehand what the drillers might encounter. The company trains contractors to recognize risky behavior and asks employees for suggestions on how to improve safety. It says it has cut time lost to safety incidents by 12 percent each year since 2000.
Analysts credit that focus, in part, to the aftermath of the 1989 Exxon Valdez grounding, which spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound in Alaska.
"Whatever you think of them, Exxon is now the safest oil company there is," said Amy Myers Jaffe, an energy expert at Rice University.
Exxon learned a hard lesson from the Exxon Valdez disaster, and now BP is getting "schooled" by Deepwater Horizon.
