Wednesday 20 April 2011

One year on: BP oil spill remembered

A year on from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that brought fierce media attention and the fury of American citizens down on BP, the oil giant has renewed its pledge to learn from the disaster.

BP has circulated adverts bearing the message: "One year later. Our commitment continues. No oil has flowed into the Gulf since July 15th. As our efforts continue, all beaches and 99% of waters are open. Gulf seafood has been subjected to more rigorous safety testing, by independent experts, than any other seafood in the world. To date, BP has spent more than $13 billion on the clean-up."

However, some campaigners have voiced dissatisfaction with the oil company's efforts.

Greenpeace issued a full media briefing to coincide with the anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon incident, suggesting it was "An accident waiting to happen", adding that "long-term environmental consequences can, as yet, only be speculated upon."

A statement BP sent to ELN today said: "BP deeply regrets the loss of life as well as the impact on the Gulf Coast community and the environment. BP is working with regulators and the industry to ensure that the lessons learned from Macondo lead to improvements in operations and contractor services in deepwater drilling."