Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Conflict
Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Conflict
Kris Stephens
BUS 5903 Conflict Resolution
Dr. Jacqueline Gilliard
Kstephens1@twu.edu
August 22, 2010
Executive Summary British Petroleum (BP) is one of the largest oil companies in the world. They have recently been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons after suffering a record breaking oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Tony Hayward, former CEO, has been criticized for his handling of the conflict, his remarks regarding the situation, and his lack of efficiency in handling the spill. Newly appointed CEO Robert Dudley faces an uphill battle of spearheading a campaign to clean the region of leaked oil, make amends with people in the gulf and restore BP’s reputation. Dudley must analyze the different key variables involved, consider the people involved and regain their trust as well as implement the right mediators for the conflict.
Background British Petroleum (BP) is a giant London-Based oil company that branded itself as an environmentally friendly company. That reputation and their financial situation took a hit in the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused by an explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, a drilling rig BP was leasing from Transocean. There was a leak in the pipe spanning a mile deep that spewed out some 5 million barrels of oil, as estimated by the government, making it the “largest accidental oil spill in history (Steiner, 2010).”
In just a few months time, BP had already put in $4 billion in response to the oil, under pressure from President Obama, under legal account, to pay for cleanup and damages. Regardless of these responsibility funds, the reputation of the company has been utterly tarnished for the long-term and foreseeable future. There may be restrictions on where BP can drill in the future based on these events as well (Steiner).
After much speculation on
Kris Stephens
BUS 5903 Conflict Resolution
Dr. Jacqueline Gilliard
Kstephens1@twu.edu
August 22, 2010
Executive Summary British Petroleum (BP) is one of the largest oil companies in the world. They have recently been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons after suffering a record breaking oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Tony Hayward, former CEO, has been criticized for his handling of the conflict, his remarks regarding the situation, and his lack of efficiency in handling the spill. Newly appointed CEO Robert Dudley faces an uphill battle of spearheading a campaign to clean the region of leaked oil, make amends with people in the gulf and restore BP’s reputation. Dudley must analyze the different key variables involved, consider the people involved and regain their trust as well as implement the right mediators for the conflict.
Background British Petroleum (BP) is a giant London-Based oil company that branded itself as an environmentally friendly company. That reputation and their financial situation took a hit in the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused by an explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, a drilling rig BP was leasing from Transocean. There was a leak in the pipe spanning a mile deep that spewed out some 5 million barrels of oil, as estimated by the government, making it the “largest accidental oil spill in history (Steiner, 2010).”
In just a few months time, BP had already put in $4 billion in response to the oil, under pressure from President Obama, under legal account, to pay for cleanup and damages. Regardless of these responsibility funds, the reputation of the company has been utterly tarnished for the long-term and foreseeable future. There may be restrictions on where BP can drill in the future based on these events as well (Steiner).
After much speculation on
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