In an environmentally risky business such as oil drilling, there can be little margin for error. And if there is a catastrophic failure, there had better be a very good–and tested–contingency plan in place. Yet with the BP oil spill, it appears that risk management and contingency planning were non-existent.

In fact, I'd bet these companies spend way more on lobbying against government intervention than on their risk management and loss control programs. And speaking of the government, where was the oversight?

I checked out the website of MPA–the Marine Preservation Association, formed as a result of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 for the sole purpose of addressing problems caused by oil spills on water. Among its members are BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Citgo, ConocoPhillips and Shell.

Recommended For You

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.