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In Ironic Twist, BP Finalist for Pollution Prevention Award
Call it a tragic irony.
Energy giant BP was a finalist to get Obama administration award for "outstanding safety and pollution prevention." (AFP/Paul Ellis) BP, now under federal scrutiny because of its role in the deadly Gulf of Mexico explosion and oil spill, is one of three finalists for a federal award honoring offshore oil companies for "outstanding safety and pollution prevention."
The winner of the award - chosen before the April 20 oil rig incident - was to be announced this coming Monday at a luncheon in Houston. But the U.S. Department of Interior this week postponed the awards ceremony, saying it needs to devote its resources to the ongoing situation resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and fire.
Eleven workers are presumed dead and an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil are leaking every day from the well. The cause of the explosion is still unknown.
A spokeswoman for the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service said she did not know which of the three finalists for the non-monetary award had been selected, nor did she say whether the current circumstances could influence the decision if BP was the winner. Winners of the award are kept secret until the ceremony, she said.
The floating Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded and eventually sank 130 miles southeast of New Orleans is owned by Transocean Ltd., a Swiss company, but was under contract with BP. The U.S. Coast Guard has termed BP the "responsible party." In U.S. Coast Guard parlance, "responsible party" typically means the entity that owns the vessel that caused the spill and is responsible for responding to an incident.
It does not imply criminal negligence.
According to a Department of Interior's website, BP Exploration & Production Inc. is one of three finalists for a Safety Award for Excellence, which honors companies for "outstanding safety and pollution prevention performance by the offshore oil and gas industry." The other nominees are ExxonMobil Corp. and Eni US Operating Co. BP specifically was nominated in the High OCS Activity Operator category, for companies engaged in operations on the outer continental shelf.
The Minerals Management Service was to name the winner of the award at the 2010 Offshore Technology Conference in Houston May 3-6. The annual award is an engraved plaque and a letter of citation, both signed by a Department of Interior official.
The awards program is intended to elevate awareness of safety and pollution and prevention, encourage voluntary compliance, educate the public and encourage excellence in safety and pollution prevention, the department says.
The program began in 1999, and is for a company's performance the previous year. British Petroleum has won the award once before, in 1992.
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15 Comments so far
Show AllAhlers sez: "But the U.S. Department of Interior this week postponed the awards ceremony, saying it needs to devote its resources to the ongoing situation resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and fire."
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More likely needed to "devote its resources" to changing the name on the plaque and citation before announcing a winner.
Shades of Obummer's peace Nobel.
Same reaction here.
I love that the award is meant to "encourage voluntary compliance". Hell, who needs to install a half-million dollar safety shut-off valve when you can 'win' an award.
BP, was probably bragging to their shareholders that they saved the company money on needless shutoff valves. Of course no greedy shareholder would say anything against this blatant safety violation in hopes of lining their own pockets. I think that we will discover that the complicity net stretches far and wide.
Exactly.
Joe
"The program began in 1999, and is for a company's performance the previous year."
guess who won't be winning next year.
It's all just part of the new zeitgeist. Warmongers like Obama are given the Nobel Peace Prize. Massive polluters like BP are awarded for preventing pollution. Up is down. Left is right. Right is wrong. War is peace. Yes means no.
Well maybe B. ull P.ucky Oil deserves the award after all as their CEO is now saying it wasn't their fault. I think this guy now qualifies to be nominated for the Noble Peace Award as if it was good enough for Obomba it should be good enough for him.
I accept the inference that the postponement indicates. BP won! Congratulations!
"The program began in 1999, and is for a company's performance the previous year. British Petroleum has won the award once before, in 1992."
How weird? BP won the award seven years before there was an award?
I'm with the others on the orwellian aspect of all this. Ignorance is strength!
Obviously I wasn't the only one struck by the parallel between this farce and Obama's Nobel Peace Prize.
I guess the prize will go to a more deserving oil company, like Exxon or Shell.
Still, I think that BP will make a splendid Miss Congeniality!
What was that PR mantra again------Beyond Petroleum?
Wait a minute...
Just last year, the MMA gave them a safety award.
They probably deserved it !!!!
And the winner for "outstanding safety and pollution prevention" is.......BP! --- And here to accept the award is our old friend Barry....
Hello, I'm Barack Obama, and unfortunately BP can't be here tonight to collect the award so on behalf of BP they've paid me to say that their efforts to achieve such an award are not only above all reproach but they also accept it on behalf of the entire oil industry. I must say those sentiments are exactly mine as well and I say with humility that I feel that this award is not only for the oil industry but also myself.
Thank you Mr Obama, mind how you go walking down the steps that you don't trip over your puppet strings.
Next up is the prestigious Humanitarian Awards which we affectionately call "The Katrina's", and our candidates are George Bush for his lightning speed responses and compassion, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld for their combined heartfelt efforts in trying to bring democracy to Iraq and Afghanistan, and last but not least Condoleezza Rice for her ground breaking book "Honestly, We Had No Idea Any Of This Stuff Was Going To Happen".
But now a quick word from our sponsor, American Idolatry......
It is my understanding that it was Dick Cheney that collaborated with BP in the infamous closed door energy sessions to weaken regulations of off shore drilling rigs, so that BP would not have to install $500,000 safety valves that may have prevented just such a calamity we are experiencing now. In contrast, oil rigs off Norway are required to have these safety valves. See what happens when corporations run the country and make the rules that benefit their bottom lines.... the environment goes to hell, and eventually the people do, too.