In BP's Record, a History of Boldness and Costly Blunders

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/business/energy-environment/13bprisk.html?_r=1&src=twt&twt=nytimes
Author: Lyall, Sarah
Source: The New York Times
Year: 2010
Company Name: British Petroleum (BP)
Number of pages: 3

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Abstract:

BP has led an industry wave of cost-cutting and consolidation. It took over American competitors like Amoco and Atlantic Richfield and eliminated tens of thousands of jobs in several rounds, streamlining management but forcing the company to rely more heavily on outside contractors.

For a long time, BP's strategy seemed to pay off. But on April 20, the nightmare situation occurred: the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded, killing 11 workers and sending millions of gallons of oil gushing from BP's Macondo well like so much black poison.

Although the accident is still under investigation, preliminary findings by Congressional investigators indicate that BP made a series of decisions that compounded the chances of disaster.