BP Oil Spill Report: Playing the Blame Game

BP just released an investigative reportabout the Deepwater Horizon spill. And, while BP took some responsibility for the oil spill, it also pointed the blame at some of its partner companies.

In the report, BP said a cement seal designed by Halliburton likely failed and that rig owner Transocean Ltd. misinterpreted tests that should have warned about the spill.

The report goes on to also deny some of the charges against BP, and claimed their "long-string" design didn’t contribute to the disaster.

I get it. BP wants to salvage some of its reputation so that it can continue doing business. It also wants to free itself from charges of criminal negligence. Fine.

And it’s possible that there were other contributing factors to the Deepwater Horizon blow out beyond BP’s actions–or inactions.

But, placing the blame for the spill is not helping anyone besides BP right now. Own up to your mistake, and then fix it!

The oil in the Gulf needs to be cleaned up. There must be regulations put in place to make sure a spill of this magnitude does not happen again. Corners must not be cut in the future.

In my opinion, BP will do a lot more to salvage their business reputation and become profitable again if they clean up their mess and going forward show they are committed to a clean environment and the safety of their workers.

And pointing fingers sure won’t help with this.

What do you think of the BP report?

By Jessica Livingston

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