Posted by Think about it, a resident of the Palo Verde neighborhood, on Jun 12, 2010 at 9:55 am

This could have happened to any US oil company because of the way it happened.

Hurting BP profits will ultimately hurt the average British person whose retirement pension has BP shares. They are the ones who will be hurt in the long run, not the oil company!!

If this was a US company, would you want to hurt the American public?

Posted by Tony Hayward, a resident of the South of Midtown neighborhood, on Jun 12, 2010 at 10:25 am

Do American oil companies have the same poor safety record as BP? In the transcripts I've read, BP managers were constantly arguing with their American workers about safety procedures. BP always overruled them on the side of cost-cutting.

Posted by Sharon, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Jun 12, 2010 at 12:32 pm

I am afraid trying to blame this on the UK will not work

40 per cent of BP’s shares owned in Britain, but 39 per cent owned in the US'

BP has six British directors and six American.

BP employs 22,000 Americans against only 10,000 Britons.

The rig and the faulty apparatus in question were built and owned by Transocean and Halliburton

Most of the workers on the rig were US citizens.

The rig was run by an US company.

The safety equipment that failed was US made.

The environmental response on the shore was cocked up by the US authorities

Posted by Tony Hayward, a resident of the South of Midtown neighborhood, on Jun 12, 2010 at 12:33 pm

Don't worry about hurting independent franchise owners. BP is helping them out. I expect that BP dealers along the Gulf Coast are seeing near zero sales right now. CNN report: Web Link

Posted by tsk tsk, a resident of the Leland Manor/Garland Drive neighborhood, on Jun 12, 2010 at 2:02 pm

Should have a world wide auto makers boycott day every year from all the human, plant and animal deaths caused by cars..

Now, if there were a worldwide protest against dithering govts that block useful solutions offered to them by, in this case, the Netherlands and a Texas company, I would jump at the chance. At least that would actually be useful and help all the folks whose pension funds are being destroyed by this misplaced anger.

Don't know what I am talking about? Go to the other thread...

BTW, very shortly it will be a GREAT time to invest in BP..

Posted by Don't boycot BP, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jun 12, 2010 at 6:35 pm

It has been pointed out in the British press that if BP goes into bankruptcy, the only entity wealthy enough to buy it up will be a Chinese petroleum company financed by the Chinese government.

BP holds the largest number of drilling operation in the world including many in Texas and California. They include Prudeau Bay in Alaska and 50 percent of the Alascan pipeline between Prudeau Bay and Valdeze.

On a day when it's announced the Chinese will take over most of Iran drilling operations you want to help give them control of the worlds oil resources by boycotting BP.

Posted by THINK, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Jun 12, 2010 at 7:39 pm

This is STUPID let me repeat STUPD. What are you a lynch mob?

There are less than a dozen people responsible to the drilling errors. More than likely the same number in the MMA of the federal government. Call for their day in court. Than would be a good idea. The rest is stupid and foolish.

Consider how many people derive their livelihood from this company? How many retirement accounts need the dividend? How many economic lives are YOU going to destroy for your emotion?

THINK

Posted by Tony Hayward, a resident of the South of Midtown neighborhood, on Jun 12, 2010 at 7:57 pm

Only an idiot thinks that BP is going bankrupt. Most of their business is wholesale, where they make billions of dollars a year, which is more than enough to pay off all the Gulf claims. With the sluggish rate at which they are paying off the victims, they likely won't even go into the red for a single quarter.

But you folks raise a good question. Who is being hurt more by the oil spill, the residents along the Gulf coast who can no longer make a living from fishing or hotels or restaurants, etc. Or the stockholders who want their dividends? Did the 2007 stock market crash, and the 2001 Enron collapse before that, teach enough people to diversify instead of rely on a single investment for all their income?

Posted by Just the facts, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jun 12, 2010 at 8:29 pm

Some interesting facts about BP.

How did BP get to be so big? It combined with Amaco/Standard Oil Company in 1998. They took the BP name.

BP is the largest manufacturer of solar panels worldwide.

BP is the biggest contributor to the London Olympics in 2012.

See a history in pictures of BP in the Daily Telegraph.

Posted by stephen levy, a resident of the University South neighborhood, on Jun 12, 2010 at 8:59 pm
stephen levy is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online

So, following this logic should BP be exempt from paying for the cleanup costs because the shareholders might be hurt?

The losses to BP from cleanup far exceed any boycott losses.

Who them should pay for the cleanup and related costs? The British or American government? Louisiana?

So BP is a great company that invests in solar and supports the Olympics. Does that mean they have no financial responsibility just because people own the shares and might be hurt?

I thought most of the posters here believed in the risk of moral hazard if companies are not responsible for their actions even if it was an accident.

Posted by Sharon, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Jun 12, 2010 at 9:21 pm

As others have pointed out BP is as much a USA company as it it is UK, the actors involved in the spill are US companies, if we destroy BP then China will buy the assets at 5c on the dollar world wide

Posted by THINK, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Jun 12, 2010 at 10:25 pm

So, following this logic should BP be exempt from paying for the cleanup costs because the shareholders might be hurt?

WHO SAID THAT? You know as well as I do BP has more than enough money to pay for ALL the clean-up. They also have enough money to pay for the economic loss as they are doing right now. If you would bother to look into it you would know that.

But don't let the facts get in you way.

BP - Web Link

BP Louisiana - Web Link

While some are talking about @$$ kicking others are working to fix the situation.

Posted by tsk tsk, a resident of the Leland Manor/Garland Drive neighborhood, on Jun 13, 2010 at 7:46 am

Thanks Think for having the patience to reply.

Non-sequitors have replaced logic for many.

For me, I have given up, I just shake my head and move on, grateful for folks like you who actually push back. Someone has to, else the uneducated remain so.

Posted by Don't boycot BP, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jun 13, 2010 at 10:40 am

Tony Hayward says: "Only an idiot thinks that BP is going bankrupt."

I guess you're referring to some of the correspondence on the Sunday morning talk shows who said that this oil spill will cost BP tens of Billions (with a "B") of dollars and that BPs pot of money is not bottomless.

There will come a time when the money may run out. They are already pushing back on the government who are demanding ever more and larger payments.

I thought it was interesting that BP is now inferring that they simply may not be able to stop the oil leak even if they drill one or two more relief wells. They are anticipating having ships out in the Gulf indefinitely catching the oil spill.

According to market watcher in London the Chinese are picking up millions of dollars worth of BP stock at depleted prices. I'm sure the Chinese government would love to get their hands on a large chunk of America's oil industry.

Meanwhile BP is busy drilling oil wells in the Falklands which, I'm sure, the Brits are willing to defend militarily from the Argentinians.