Deepwater Horizon
British Petroleum, hereafter referred to as BP, is a giant among firms in the gas industry. On April 20, 2010, an oil drilling rig leased by BP in the Gulf of Mexico, suffered ultimate collapse and claimed the lives of eleven workers and inflicted severe injury on 17 additional crew members. The Deepwater Horizon incident was the result of a blowout of a wellhead and blazed for 36 hours following the initial explosion (Shultz, Walsh, Garfin, Wilson, & Neria, 2015). This tragic calamity gushed 4.9 million gallons of crude oil over an 87-day period spanning from the day of the explosion to the long-awaited day when the gusher was capped (Shultz, et al., 2015). BP has been criticized by some and lauded by others regarding the handling of such a traumatic and tragic incident. BP was legally named as the responsible party in the Deepwater Horizon tragedy because of the leaseholder designation of the organization (Matejek & Gossling,
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The tragic incident known as the Deepwater Horizon forever changed the lives of all touched and also altered the fate of BP, a petroleum industry powerhouse. The management of the incident changed public opinion and stakeholder perceptions. After the crisis occurs, crisis management is the only thing that remains. While the well was sealed in July of 2010, there are reports of continued seeping in 2012. This is not only a human catastrophe, but also an environmental calamity because of the spill of 4.9 million barrels of crude petroleum. The effects sustained by mankind and the environment may not be fully recognized for countless years to come. Deepwater Horizon shows the impact of an accident as well as the importance of safety and corporate ethics simultaneously. All things considered, effective crisis management begins with knowledge and preparedness, which were both absent in the situation of the Deepwater