Posts Tagged ‘BP’

May17

Senate gives Big Oil another free pass

By: Tyson Slocum

Tyson SlocumJust what Big Oil needed: another victory. First, Congress fails to pass legislation that would respond to last summer’s catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Then, President Barack Obama announces that his administration will expand offshore drilling, which means more money for the oil industry.

But now, despite overwhelming public support, the U.S. Senate has failed to pass the Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act (S. 940), which would have repealed tens of billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil and gas companies over the next decade.

Big Oil is racking up the victories while working families pay the price. Yet again Big Oil defies the odds and gets a minority of lawmakers to support its narrow agenda at the expense of the American public.

The oil industry has killed efforts to be fully liable for the messes it makes in offshore oil spills, and now it holds on to its coveted tax breaks, despite overwhelming evidence that they are no longer needed. What is desperately needed are investments in clean energy to reduce our dependence on oil and deficit reduction. But Big Oil can’t be bothered to be a part of the solution. Instead, the industry uses its money and influence to keep its taxpayer handouts coming.

The big five oil companies – which in the last quarter racked up $36 billion in net profits – will continue to receive taxpayer money because many in the Senate have closer ties to those giant corporations than their own constituents.

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Posted in: Energy1 comments

May17

The Big Double Cross

By: Bartlett Naylor

 

Today, AFSCME, the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, which represents the average Americans who clean our streets and schools, nurse us back to health and many other important jobs,  has just released a report documenting a double cross perpetuated by some of the nation’s largest mutual funds on those who invest through them every year."Bart Naylor" "Financial policy"

“Tipping the Balance? Large Mutual Funds’ Influence upon Executive Compensation,” released today by AFSCME analyzed 26 of the largest mutual fund families’ voting patterns on compensation proposals in 2010.

For the first time, a report looks at voting weighted by the assets under management of each fund family, to illustrate their overall ability to influence compensation practices at U.S. corporations.  AFSCME looked at ten selected votes where there was a consensus of investor concern over pay.

“As two of the largest mutual funds, Vanguard and BlackRock have the opportunity to make a real difference in reforming CEO pay, but have chosen to continue the status quo,” said AFSCME International President Gerald W. McEntee. “They owe their clients an explanation for why their assets are being used for CEO pay that does not always match the companies’ performance levels.”

Analyzing fund influence based upon assets under management, the report found that the three largest fund families — Vanguard, Fidelity and American — control 59 percent of the assets reviewed for a total over $1.2 trillion. The other 23 fund families controlled 41 percent, or approximately $800 billion.

The large mutual funds dress up their product as a vehicle for the little guy. Vanguard declares: “Consider a Vanguard mutual fund account for investing beyond your IRA or 401(k). You’ll be able to invest in funds that fit your needs, no matter what you’re striving for financially.” And Fidelity says: “For over 60 years, through all kinds of markets, Fidelity has been helping people like you pursue their financial goals.”

But what the mutual funds don’t say is that they also have corporate clients, where they manage their retirement plans. Those corporate clients might notice if Fidelity or Vanguard votes against a management position at the shareholder meeting, and take their business to another investment firm. Small investors don’t notice.  That’s why the AFSCME report is so important.

“Year after year, mutual funds on the whole remained supportive of management positions,” noted Beth Young, one of the report’s authors.

These votes are critical. Corporate decisions weigh more critically in the destiny of America than those of many city councils, or even state legislatures. Consider British Petroleum’s decisions on safety measures for its oil rigs. Yet even this year, mutual funds voted against proposals to improve safety at Exxon and other American oil companies.

Angry with these results?  Call your investment advisor and let him or her know you don’t appreciate their vote to overpay the CEO while Main Street struggles.

Posted in: Energy, Environment, Ethics, Money & Democracy Update, Social Justice0 comments

April25

The man Obama tasked to clean up the MMS following BP spill sits down with Public Citizen one year after

By: Rachel Lewis

Michael Bromwich talks at Public Citizen HQ one year after BP.

Today, Michael Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) came to Public Citizen to talk about the progress he has made setting up this new bureau to replace the Minerals Management Service (MMS) in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mr. Bromwich began by saying that the Minerals Management Service (MMS) was set up to do one thing– maximize profit for the U.S. Treasury. This is not the current objective of BOEMERE according to Bromwich who said that the they were the “most reviewed and tested agency” in the last decade. He staunchly defended the efforts that have been made to advance safety and environmental considerations under his oversight. Among the efforts he touted:

1) The creation of “Chief Environmentalist” position that would “amplify” the concerns of environmentalist to the people making decisions

2) New trainings coordinated by the government, as opposed to industry

3) New conflict of interest rules that would require an inspector to dismiss himself from inspecting a rig where a relative or colleague worked

4) Recruitment of new blood to shake up and balance already existing staff.

Most notably, Bromwich agreed with Public Citizen that we cannot drill our way to lower gas prices. However, Public Citizen President Robert Weissman exposed an area of disagreement when he questioned Bromwich’s belief that the players most directly tied to the BP disaster continue to deserve a seat at the regulatory table.

See our flickr album from the event.  And, check back tomorrow for video of this event.

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April4

As Transocean touts its best year in safety, government has amnesia about Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill

By: Dorry Samuels

It’s like they took a tip from the Wall Street banksters after they crashed the economy. Only this time, it’s the oil execs.

Transocean decided to pat itself on the back for a job well done in 2010 and touted its “best year in safety.” Yes, for 2010. For those keeping score, that was the same year that its oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded and killed 11 workers.

But the company’s executives did such a great job the rest of the year that apparently they deserved some bonuses.

“Notwithstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record as measured by our total recordable incident rate (“TRIR”) and total potential severity rate (“TPSR”),” Transocean wrote. “As measured by these standards, we recorded the best year in safety performance in our Company’s history, which is a reflection on our commitment to achieving an incident free environment, all the time, everywhere.

Or, as Grist put it:

“Yeah, some people died and some animals died and some livelihoods were ruined, but that was only April through July. On average we did pretty good. Here’s a suit made of money and a hat made of money.”

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Posted in: Energy, Environment, Regulation, Workplace Health & Safety1 comments

March24

Blowout preventers – the last line of defense isn’t much of one

By: Angela Bradbery

Oil rig

flickr photo by sjorford

So after nearly a year, we have an answer to the question that has baffled so many who have studied the BP oil disaster: Why did the blowout preventer – the piece of equipment that the oil industry claims is THE THING that will absolutely stop gushers no matter what- fail?

Turns out that the force of the oil and gas coming from the ocean floor was simply too much for the equipment. Joel Achenbach of The Washington Post explains:

[T]he violent surge of oil and gas up the well — caused the drillpipe to buckle and move slightly off center. That fouled the operation of the blind shear rams, the blades designed to close on the drillpipe and shut in the well.

Wow. Simple as that. The piece of machinery that the oil industry has represented as the fail-safe, foolproof backup system when all else fails, is pretty fallible.

“Blowout preventer is a misnomer,” said an engineer who assisted in the probe and who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for the investigation. “People have been thinking of this as a fail-safe device, and it’s more of an operating device.”

Said Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.):

This report calls into question whether oil industry claims about the effectiveness of blowout preventers are just a bunch of hot air.

Meanwhile, this week, the Obama administration granted a fourth permit for deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf.

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