Covering the risk of deepwater E&P

摘要

The 2010 fatal accident and subsequent oil spill at BP's Macondo exploration well in the Gulf of Mexico-the largest such spill in US history-has so far cost the company more than $40bn. The knock-on effects to BP's supply chain have been heavy too. Switzerland's Transocean, the world's biggest drilling company, whose Swiss-subsidiary Triton Asset Leasing was charging BP close on $500,000/d to hire the Deepwater Horizon rig, its crew, equipment and support vessels for Macondo, agreed in January 2013 to pay $1.4bn for violations of the US Clean Water Act associated with the disaster. The stakes seem to be rising everywhere. In June, the Canadian government announced it was to increase from C$30mn-C$40mn ($29.4mn-$39.8mn) to C$1 bn the liability for any damage wreaked on Canada's environment, people or busi-nesses by offshore oil spills or blowouts in the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans and coastal waters. This, however, is only for 'no fault' mishaps. Companies held to be at fault or negligent would still be liable for unlimited damages. Meanwhile, high-profile industry conferences to mark the 25th anniversary this year of the 1988 explosion that killed 167 people on Occidental's Piper Alpha oil production platform in the North Sea have added to a consensus among policymakers and the public that major errors demand large penalties.