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The sheer optics of the dreadful oil spill in the Gulf Coast
We watch, with utter amazement and a little embarrassment, the politically self-serving inquisition the CEO of BP has endured over that last 48 hours. If anyone should apply for the Maytag repairman vacancy, it would surely be this embattled oil executive. Don’t get us wrong here, BP, as the owner of the well, has a responsibility for this leak, a very big one at that, along with a duty to secure and repair other oil rigs in our oceans that it operates, but there are others who have not faced the virtual firing squad that this poor sap has – and should. Halliburton for one, (Hello Dick Cheney master duck hunter), was in charge of cementing the well; the rig owner, TransOcean, was in charge of the physical drilling operation; and the U.S. government agency, Minerals Management Service, provided permits for the operation.
So now we have a daily volume leak rate estimate from yet another government agency at 60,000 barrels per day as opposed to the original BP estimate of 5,000 bpd. So let’s take an average leakage at 32,500 bpd. The U.S. consumes 22,000,000 bpd; and let’s do the math; will it affect supply or the ultimate pricing of crude and derivatives?
By: Roger McKnight, Senior Petroleum Advisor
Find out in this week’s Energy Report. Sign up by sending your email to: info@en-pro.com. Also in this week’s Report, natural gas and electricity data across Canada.