PHI 445
British Petroleum
PHI 445: Personal and Organizational Ethics
British Petroleum
The 2010 British Petroleum (BP) oil spill took place 41 miles offshore in The
Gulf of Mexico. This environmental disaster was contributed by greed, failure to enforce
regulations, and failure to train the crews of the Deepwater Horizon. The total damages to
the environment, nearby communities, and the coastal economy are over $36 billion.
Human and equipment failures fueled by failures to enforce regulations caused BP's
Deep-Water Horizon to spill oil. The United States' economy operates under a hybrid
system, but capitalism contributed to BP's oil spill, leading to the biggest environmental
disaster in recent years. Capitalism contributed to and fostered the conditions that led to
the worst environmental disaster. Capitalism is defined as "personal self-interest, not
community interest, motivates business activity" (Fieser, 2015). Motivated by greed and
profits, BP's leadership leveraged the loosely regulated policy and was cited for multiple
drilling regulation violations after the investigation into the spill. The Justice
Department's investigation stated BP failed to protect the health, the safety of the crews,
and the environment by failing to perform their drilling operations within the established
guidelines. But the Justice Department also cited "systemic problems with the offshore
program that has nothing to do with BP" (Murzulla, 2013). To safely conduct offshore
exploration for oil and gas, strict regulations are needed to reduce self-inflicted
capitalism. BP did not take the preventive measures to prevent unauthorized discharge of
pollutants into offshore waters and failed to take necessary precautions to keep the well
, under the control of the required pressure. Greed drove BP's leadership to an unethical
business practice that cut corners, harmed the environment, and violated safety laws.
Not protecting the environment that provides us with resources is not morally
permissible. Deontology theory provides a guideline for a directional compass that gives
us the "basic moral principle" that an individual needs to experience life (Fieser, 2015).
Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative provides guidelines that the environment can
contribute immense value to an organization and the community and see the values the
environment can provide. The oil spill that led to millions of oils into the Gulf of Mexico
could have been prevented if British Petroleum's leadership had taken greater
responsibility for protecting the environment they operate in, thus protecting their future
investment. British Petroleum leadership must understand the tremendous value that the
environment offers from offshore oil and gas explorations. British Petroleum's
environment is constantly changing for the worst; increasing water temperature will
create more destructive weather. British Petroleum's leadership must accept the
environment as a contributing member of their organization, as they have contributed to
their wealth more many years.
British Petroleum failed to isolate the hydrocarbons. At the time of the oil spill,
British Petroleum violated seven federal regulations; specifically, they only had one
cement barrier to "isolate the hydrocarbons" from entering the well and the reservoir (BP,
2010). Their failure to isolate the hydrocarbon from entering the well and reservoir
caused an explosion leading to millions of gallons of oil into the ocean. A series of events
could have helped prevent the accident, but British Petroleum's leadership failed to
recognize it and incorporate corrective measures. They willingly completed a pressure
test before establishing the well structural integrity, leading to hydrocarbons entering the
well. Their internal investigation team acknowledged that the accident on 20 April 2010
was due to the well integrity failure causing catastrophic environmental issues.
British Petroleum
PHI 445: Personal and Organizational Ethics
British Petroleum
The 2010 British Petroleum (BP) oil spill took place 41 miles offshore in The
Gulf of Mexico. This environmental disaster was contributed by greed, failure to enforce
regulations, and failure to train the crews of the Deepwater Horizon. The total damages to
the environment, nearby communities, and the coastal economy are over $36 billion.
Human and equipment failures fueled by failures to enforce regulations caused BP's
Deep-Water Horizon to spill oil. The United States' economy operates under a hybrid
system, but capitalism contributed to BP's oil spill, leading to the biggest environmental
disaster in recent years. Capitalism contributed to and fostered the conditions that led to
the worst environmental disaster. Capitalism is defined as "personal self-interest, not
community interest, motivates business activity" (Fieser, 2015). Motivated by greed and
profits, BP's leadership leveraged the loosely regulated policy and was cited for multiple
drilling regulation violations after the investigation into the spill. The Justice
Department's investigation stated BP failed to protect the health, the safety of the crews,
and the environment by failing to perform their drilling operations within the established
guidelines. But the Justice Department also cited "systemic problems with the offshore
program that has nothing to do with BP" (Murzulla, 2013). To safely conduct offshore
exploration for oil and gas, strict regulations are needed to reduce self-inflicted
capitalism. BP did not take the preventive measures to prevent unauthorized discharge of
pollutants into offshore waters and failed to take necessary precautions to keep the well
, under the control of the required pressure. Greed drove BP's leadership to an unethical
business practice that cut corners, harmed the environment, and violated safety laws.
Not protecting the environment that provides us with resources is not morally
permissible. Deontology theory provides a guideline for a directional compass that gives
us the "basic moral principle" that an individual needs to experience life (Fieser, 2015).
Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative provides guidelines that the environment can
contribute immense value to an organization and the community and see the values the
environment can provide. The oil spill that led to millions of oils into the Gulf of Mexico
could have been prevented if British Petroleum's leadership had taken greater
responsibility for protecting the environment they operate in, thus protecting their future
investment. British Petroleum leadership must understand the tremendous value that the
environment offers from offshore oil and gas explorations. British Petroleum's
environment is constantly changing for the worst; increasing water temperature will
create more destructive weather. British Petroleum's leadership must accept the
environment as a contributing member of their organization, as they have contributed to
their wealth more many years.
British Petroleum failed to isolate the hydrocarbons. At the time of the oil spill,
British Petroleum violated seven federal regulations; specifically, they only had one
cement barrier to "isolate the hydrocarbons" from entering the well and the reservoir (BP,
2010). Their failure to isolate the hydrocarbon from entering the well and reservoir
caused an explosion leading to millions of gallons of oil into the ocean. A series of events
could have helped prevent the accident, but British Petroleum's leadership failed to
recognize it and incorporate corrective measures. They willingly completed a pressure
test before establishing the well structural integrity, leading to hydrocarbons entering the
well. Their internal investigation team acknowledged that the accident on 20 April 2010
was due to the well integrity failure causing catastrophic environmental issues.
