Bp Global Business

BP Gulf Coast Oil Spill

The global issue I chose is the BP oil spill of 2010 that affected the Gulf of Mexico and coast. The BP oil spill occurred on April 20, 2010 just off the coast of Louisiana. This Environmental disaster affected the ecosystem as well as businesses and thousands of jobs. It is believed that BP's oil spill released over 60,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf. The damage was estimated at 1.6 billion dollars and years of pollution. Immediately, the country rushed to fix the leak at the bottom of the ocean. For months the BP leak bled into the ocean harming the ecosystem. This disaster raised a lot of ethical questions, like, should BP be drilling in the Gulf of Mexico? How could British Petroleum be so irresponsible with operations? How is BP going to fix the ecosystem and help all those whose jobs were in jeopardy? Why is the CEO of BP going sailing on the other side of the globe during this disaster? Most importantly how do we fix this problem? All these ethical problems that BP needed to handle as quick as possible. BP quickly went on the defensive claiming it was not their fault, blaming it on the workers of the oil rig and faulty machinery. Then, they released commercials talking about how they care about the environment and plan to do everything in their power to help the workers and wildlife affected. Then they started trying to plug the leak at the bottom of the ocean. After months and weeks, they finally plugged the hole at the bottom of the ocean. BP's damage control would be considered by many as successful, although it may have permanently damaged their image. To this day, BP continues offshore drilling and pull in huge profits globally. The fact is as long as we have the need for fossil fuel that generate billions of dollars these oil companies will not be penalized for their incompetence. Until the world finds a sustaining clean energy we will be at the mercy of these Oil Juggernauts.