Safety
Deepwater Horizon, one year later
Today marks one year since the BP Deepwater Horizon blowout and spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It is a sad anniversary, most of all for the families of the 11 men who died in the incident. Our sympathy goes out to them. On this day we also recognize those whose livelihoods, communities, and economies were damaged due to the spill and subsequent moratorium. As those of us in the industry look back, we know that this isn’t the standard by which we operate our business.
Critical energy issues for discussion with Secretary Salazar
Today, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will appear before a hearing of the House Natural Resources Committee, which comes directly on the heels of his testimony yesterday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Both hearings provide a good opportunity for the Secretary and committee members to discuss some critical issues about energy policy that are getting more and more attention as the situation in the Middle East remains uncertain and gasoline prices remain volatile.
New oil spill commission report contradicts “systemic” conclusions
A report released yesterday by the chief counsel of the presidential commission on the Deepwater Horizon accident gives us further insight into the causes of the Macondo well blowout and subsequent rig explosion. In reviewing the detail of the report, it is clear that despite what the commission said in its original report released in January, what happened at Macondo was not evidence of “systemic failures” by industry and government regulators.
Marine Well Containment Company makes strides to restore confidence in the Gulf
The tragic events of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill that took place last summer in the Gulf of Mexico shouldn’t have happened. I’ve talked about this issue at length in previous posts, but it bears repeating that our industry’s experience is that when you follow established procedures and practices, incidents like the Deepwater Horizon do not happen – and haven’t happened in more than 14,000 deepwater wells drilled worldwide.
A specific – not systemic – failure
The release yesterday of findings by the presidential commission on the BP-Deepwater Horizon accident has helped give us a fuller picture of what happened in the tragic Gulf of Mexico blowout, explosion and oil spill. The report concluded that the disaster was avoidable and resulted from a specific series of management failures on the part of the companies involved.
Building a culture of safety
Today, the presidential commission investigating the tragic Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico convened for the second part of a two-day hearing in Washington, D.C. As part of today’s hearings, the commission sought views on how companies have developed sustainable and effective approaches to safety. Our chairman and CEO, Rex Tillerson, was invited to share ExxonMobil’s perspectives on this critical issue.
