Mixed
Messages: BP's Record On The Environment And Safety, Alaska Oil Operations,
And The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
U.S. PIRG Education Fund
November 2003
A
Recent History | News
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Safety and
the Environment on Alaska's North Slope – A Recent History
9.23.99 – BP pleads guilty
to federal charges connected to the illegal dumping of hazardous waste into
the ground-water at the Endicott Oil Field. As part of the settlement, BP agrees
to pay $22 million in criminal and civil penalties and is put on criminal probation.
7.24.00 – BP launches a
new public relations campaign, adopting a green and yellow sun as its logo and
introducing a new slogan – ‘beyond petroleum.’ On the same day, BP agrees to
pay $10 million in penalties for environmental violations at operations throughout
the United States.
4.01 – The Environmental
Protection Agency fines BP $412,500 for failing to properly monitor waste discharges
from several of its North Slope operations. The fine is reduced to $53,460 because
of the company’s voluntary disclosure of Clean Water Act violations.
1.09.02 – BP agrees to replace
a faulty valve at a Prudhoe Bay oil well, nearly four years after employees
initially requested that the valve be replaced. The oil well valve is used to
mitigate possible oil spills.
3.02 – Two veteran BP employees
call for federal oversight of North Slope oil operations, alleging several safety
and maintenance problems at the Prudhoe Bay oil field, including faulty valves
and pipeline corrosion.
6.05.02 – BP receives a
$300,000 fine for failing to install an advanced system that would detect pipeline
leaks throughout the Prudhoe Bay facility.
8.22.02 – An explosion at
a North Slope well pad throws a BP employee 50 feet in the air. The employee
suffers severe burns and broken bones.
11.25.02 – BP agrees to
pay the State of Alaska $675,000 for costs related to the cleanup of a large
Prudhoe Bay pipeline spill.
12.21.02 – A BP employee
is killed on the North Slope after a water pipeline burst under extreme pressure.
1.21.03 – Media reports
reveal an internal memo sent to North Slope employees by BP Alaska President
Steve Marshall warning that BP may halt all Alaska operations if safety problems
continue.
4.24.03 – At the annual
meeting in London, BP officials cite Alaska safety problems as one of the company’s
largest concerns.
5.27.03 – A spill of more
than 6,000 gallons is discovered at an underground pipeline near a caribou crossing
on the North Slope. BP officials determine the cause of the spill to be pipeline
corrosion.
Present Day – The ‘beyond
petroleum’ public relations campaign continues to this day, with the following
message displayed in large bold letters on BP Alaska’s web site: "no accidents,
no harm to people, no damage to the environment"
Prudhoe Bay Oil Spill Could Be Largest in History of North Slope Oil & Gas Operations 3/6/06
