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Politics : President Barack Obama -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: koan who wrote (77817)	6/8/2010 11:58:42 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 149317

Can BP Ever Get It Right? ______________________________________________________________ Editorial The New York Times June 7, 2010 The world knows that BP failed to plan for the disastrous blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. Now we discover that BP did not plan for success either. The containment cap the company has lowered over the well is capturing considerable quantities of oil — about 11,000 barrels a day, according to the Coast Guard. But BP has not been able to increase the collection rate because the machinery on its surface ship is rapidly nearing its 15,000 barrel-a-day limit on the amount of oil it can process for storage. The ship’s total capacity is 139,000 barrels, which, at present rates, could be reached in a matter of days. BP said on Monday that another processing ship would be ready to start receiving oil by the weekend. One has to wonder when this feckless outfit — whose chief executive finally admitted last week with chilling understatement that he did not have the “tool kit” to control deep-water blowouts — will ever get ahead of this or any other problem. Then there is the issue of BP’s shaky credibility. Only a few weeks ago, the company estimated the spill at 5,000 barrels a day. Government experts later revised this figure upward to 12,000 to 25,000 barrels. That terrifying number may still be too modest in view of the fact that the 11,000 barrels a day now being captured are only a fraction of the total. Members of Congress led by Representative Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, continue to press the company for better numbers on the size of the spill. One reason is to help coordinate a proper response. Another is to correctly calculate the size of the fines BP will have to pay under the Oil Pollution Act. Under that law as written in 1990, BP must pay $1,000 for every barrel it spills, and $3,000 per barrel if it is found to have been grossly negligent. BP can do the math just as well as Mr. Markey can — 25,000 barrels a day times 40 days (and climbing) times $3,000 equals at least $3 billion. Trying to shave the figures downward will only do more damage to the company’s reputation. In his gloomiest assessment so far, Adm. Thad Allen of the Coast Guard, who is leading the federal response, conceded on Monday that the breadth and complexity of the spill had defied all expectations and that years of work would be required to repair the damage to shorelines, marshes and wildlife. BP has a lot of work ahead of it. Given its serial failures, it clearly can’t be trusted to figure out what is needed on its own. So where is that presidential boot?

To: koan who wrote (77817)	6/9/2010 10:24:11 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Respond to of 149317

Some on this thread including yours truly repeatedly opined that the WH will come down heavily on BP at the appropriate time. Obama is a very wise man. And this is yet another instance that points to that. We don't want to bankrupt BP. We just want them to pay their just share of the damage. And if in the process they go bankrupt, so be it. ====================================== U.S. Ramps Up Tab on BP Stock Plunges as White House Insists Company Pay All Idled Oil Workers in Gulf ....contd at online.wsj.com