How Did BP Oil Spill?
In 2010, BP encountered two predicaments. The first was stopping a major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico after an oilrig exploded. The second was persuading people that they were doing just so.
The company damaged its environmentally friendly image when the Deepwater Horizon oilrig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, eventually creating the largest marine oil spill in history. Eleven workers were killed, an estimated 6,000 barrels of oil leaked per day, and years of irreversible damage occurred to countless marine life. However drastic these circumstances, BP’s true nightmare proved to be their lack of effective public relations efforts.
Communication, action, and empathy are crucial in a proper response to a serious crisis. Unfortunately, BP lacked all three. …show more content…
However, the U.S federal government estimated the number to be closer to 6,000 barrels of oil, which instantly hurt BP’s credibility. “… The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume,” said then BP CEO Tony Hayward, in an attempt to downplay the disaster. Yet, as the oil continued to spill in the weeks following the initial explosion, U.S government officials and the general public began to realize the disastrous environmental effects that the spill would ultimately cause. The company’s lack of truthful communication led to distrust among the public.
BP also failed to take responsibility, as well as proper action, during the aftermath of the rig explosion. In an interview with ABC, BP CEO Tony Hayward said:
“Ah, this wasn’t our accident. This was a drilling rig operated by another company. It was their people, their systems, and their processes. We are responsible not for the accident but we are responsible for the oil, dealing with it and cleaning the situation
The company damaged its environmentally friendly image when the Deepwater Horizon oilrig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, eventually creating the largest marine oil spill in history. Eleven workers were killed, an estimated 6,000 barrels of oil leaked per day, and years of irreversible damage occurred to countless marine life. However drastic these circumstances, BP’s true nightmare proved to be their lack of effective public relations efforts.
Communication, action, and empathy are crucial in a proper response to a serious crisis. Unfortunately, BP lacked all three. …show more content…
However, the U.S federal government estimated the number to be closer to 6,000 barrels of oil, which instantly hurt BP’s credibility. “… The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume,” said then BP CEO Tony Hayward, in an attempt to downplay the disaster. Yet, as the oil continued to spill in the weeks following the initial explosion, U.S government officials and the general public began to realize the disastrous environmental effects that the spill would ultimately cause. The company’s lack of truthful communication led to distrust among the public.
BP also failed to take responsibility, as well as proper action, during the aftermath of the rig explosion. In an interview with ABC, BP CEO Tony Hayward said:
“Ah, this wasn’t our accident. This was a drilling rig operated by another company. It was their people, their systems, and their processes. We are responsible not for the accident but we are responsible for the oil, dealing with it and cleaning the situation