Even the warnings that were coming from the Macondo Deepwater drilling operation didn't make a difference. It's easy to see how they could ignore the warnings though because they were only doing what the rest of the corporate world had done quite (financially) successfully in the credit crisis. The deepwater drilling was Big Oil's answer to the casino culture that was and is so present on Wall Street. From Big Oil's perspective, they just watched Wall Street gamble and lose everything yet still get bailed out so how could they lose?
Much like Wall Street, sure, some companies may not make it beyond this gamble but they'll be paid handsomely on the way out the door. For the victor will be the reward of even larger than too-big-to-fail which will translate into even more money. Maybe BP will end up being the near term loser but they just as easily could have been the winner in this casino culture. The end result for everyone else is even greater reliance on fewer but even larger oil companies.
Obama has the misfortune of inheriting this mess from Bush and the GOP but it doesn't mean he should accept it and stay the course as he's done with Wall Street. A bit of change to the ridiculous self-regulation and economies of scale lies needs to addressed sooner than later. Bringing order to these gamblers needs to happen immediately.
BP staked its future on expanding offshore drilling a month before the catastrophic explosion on the Deepwater Horizon triggered the United States' worst environmental disaster, according to company documents revealed yesterday.
The investigative web site ProPublica published a March 2010 strategy document in which BP named "expanding deepwater" as its number one area for long-term growth.
But even as the document was drawn up, engineers were struggling to control the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, which had already gained a reputation as a risky operation, according to industry sources.
The strategy paper claimed BP now held a global lead over its competitors in deepwater production – even though its costs were considerably lower. Earlier this month the executives of BP's rivals, including Exxon and Chevron, told a congressional hearing they would have taken more safeguards on the doomed Deepwater Horizon rig.
