Big Oil, Confirmation Of Industry's Deceitful Past

In a story by David Hammer in the Times Picayune dated August 5 four Major Oil Companies, Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, Shell and ConocoPhillips vowed that in six months, their plans for a $1 billion system to contain oil well blowouts will dramatically improve the industry's preparedness. Top engineering officials from those firms appeared before the head of the new federal offshore oversight agency at a public hearing at Tulane University. They promised, in six months, an improved blowout response, and a fully revamped system ready for entire industry to share in 18 months.

The oil industry which the above companies are a part of assured the public for over 50 years the industry had the safety capabilities to prevent a blowout and remove any spilled oil from the Gulf before that oil reached land and now after over 3 months of the BP explosion and spill they tell us they won't have the means to do what they said they could do all along for another 18 months. These are the same companies who want the 6 month moratorium lifted, yet they are 18 months away from a system. They have completely ignored the 11 workers killed, those injured and the families who are still paying the price for the BP explosion.

There seems to be no shame by the oil industry for being so deceitful. Every time their officials open their mouth and every time elected officials support their positions prove that President Obama was right in declaring the moratorium and that the President displayed his leadership and courage concerning the spill and its aftermath. The oil industry and those elected officials who support their positions have reached the bottom of the barrel.

Melanie Driscoll, director of bird conservation for the National Audubon Society's Louisiana Coastal Initiative, offered a sobering counterpoint to the oil companies' assurances. Delivering a statement on behalf of the wildlife affected by the spill she said: "You protect us after the fact with imperfect protection, imperfectly managed. It must never again be acceptable to perform a massive chemical experiment on our Gulf waters and the living resources within. After the 11 rig workers, we are the next to die."

The public and government officials must never trust anything the oil industry leaders say again unless they can back up any pronouncements with facts and the ability to demonstrate such facts.