The breakdown of British Petroleum's pipeline is more than a potential 8 percent loss in domestic oil distribution, it's likely part of a long string of criminal actions.
If they had only used the 'smart pig' the pipeline would likely be in operation.
A rupture in their lines that led to a 200,000 gallon leak this spring, an explosion at a BP refinery, and accounts of actively fabricating repair records and covering up problems are all part of a criminal investigation now underway.
"Tuesday, in an interview with NBC News, a federal official in charge of pipeline safety charged that BP has been doing inadequate maintenance for 15 years.
"Frankly, we would have expected a higher level of care from a company like BP on lines like this," says Thomas J. Barrett with the Department of Transportation's Office of Pipeline Safety. "What disappointed me was their failure to maintain these lines to an accepted industry level of care," Barrett says.
Tuesday night, BP would not comment on the criminal investigation, but insists that its maintenance program was adequate."
Pigging refers to using a machine which travels inside pipelines to detect leaks, weak seals and weak repair welds. BP stopped using these machines about 10 years ago.
But the 'smart pig' wasn't on the job. BP was able to reduce or eliminate maintenance costs, and haul their profits to record levels.
And those who reported the problems years ago to BP? Greg Palast writes:
"In one case, BP'’s CEO of Alaskan operations hired a former CIA expert to break into the home of a whistleblower, Chuck Hamel, who had complained of conditions at the pipe'’s tanker facility. BP tapped his phone calls with a US congressman and ran a surveillance and smear campaign against him. When caught, a US federal judge said BP'’s acts were '“reminiscent of Nazi Germany.'”
This was not an isolated case. Captain James Woodle, once in charge of the pipe'’s Valdez terminus, was blackmailed into resigning the post when he complained of disastrous conditions there. The weapon used on Woodle was a file of faked evidence of marital infidelity. Nice guys, eh?"
Palast has the goods on BP. The new 'smart pig' is at the money trough, hogging like mad.
Let the spin to protect BP begin and let the price gouging at the pump begin!
Whoo-Hoo! I LOOOOOVE oil companies!
ReplyDeleteI think its totally cool that a president with mad connections to big oil is in office when oil takes a 200% price jump.
An oil company would not engage in those kinds of tactics. This is an obvious example of the liberal media's agenda to discredit the fine work that the current administration is doing to ensure the vitality of the environment, to decrease our dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels, and to guarantee that we live in a safe, secure, and free nation. Wait, maybe it's the agenda of the gay lobby, or the liberal educators...Anyway, the liberals are wrong and Oil companies rule!
ReplyDelete"Smart pig"...Maybe that will be the next Republican candidate, they have already elected the dumbed down version.
Why wasn't the fed agency in charge of inspecting the pipelines (waiting 15 yrs to report the lax inspections!) pulled on the carpet as well as BP?
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing reeks of a Cheney oil fart.
I'm about ready to pull my bike out of mothballs.
I was seriously pricing Stella mopeds by Genuine Scooters, cuz 100 miles to the gallon is about right where I want to be. Of course, I live close enough to work to bike there. Of course, I don't bike there.
ReplyDeleteMy bike has a flat front tire...