The Exploration Of British Petroleum - 1412 Words

British Petroleum has a large operation in the United States and it has made investments to ensure that it develops these operations to maximize its production and increase profits. One such investment was the acquisition of the vast oil field at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. This acquisition represented a good increase in the percentage of oil production in the United States and ensured that the company could increase its production and further its goals and objectives for the United States market. As early as 2001 there were incidents at the facility that the company internally accounted for and management was made aware of the safety concerns that existed. The March 2006 oil leak represented a culmination of various factors that showed that a†¦show more content†¦The facility’s management should have ensured that proper maintenance was being conducted on all their equipment, especially the pipelines. If there was a company requirement for inspections, not conducting them re presents an unethical decision by management (Jennings, 2012). If the problem had been brought up by employees and management failed to make the right decision, it is still not ethical. These were glaring problems management refused to address. The further problem of BP’s overall management not enforcing company policy means that there is a culture of unethical decision making where economics gains far outweigh the adherence to safety regulations (BP’s Troubled Past, 2010). With BP renting the rig from Transocean for $500,000 per day, the company was sharing liability with Transocean as well. Transocean would be held liable according to the provisions of the contract that the two companies signed. Because the law of vicarious liability is very vague, BP cannot distance itself from liability and responsibility through the use of a contractor (Conn, 2009). The provisions of the contract should have stated exactly what BP would be responsible for, and what Transocean woul d be responsible for. That said, Conn (2009) pointed out several factors that come into play when sharing liability and addressed the problem with the following points: (a) Companies usually seek the help of experts to perform particular tasks. BP had contracted Transocean because the