BP Investigation

The BP Texas Oil Refinery disaster produced a substantial degree of public unquiet about the safety of petrochemical installations and the companies which operate them. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board came under public and media pressure to produce an objective investigation into the incident. There is likely to be increasing pressure on the petrochemical industry to clean up its act and in this process there are likely to be significant costs for the petroleum companies.

The Autonomy of a disaster

The Impact of the disaster on the U.S. public conscience

The Public Relations and Public Opinion fallout of the BP Texas Oil Refinery disaster has left a deep scar on the reputation and credibility of the major petrochemical companies. Indeed the public (and thus many politicians) are now of the opinion that if even the household brand names are not to be trusted, then the lesser brands and smaller companies, are to be trusted even less. The pressure in on the whole petrochemical industry.

The legacy of the plant operation policies of the industry is not only an increased incidence of civil and criminal litigation, but also an increased vigilance on the operations of the companies in the industry. The politicians are bound to follow this public pressure, especially now that Big Oil has lost its major proponent at the White House.