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Drowning in Oil: BP & the Reckless Pursuit of Profit
by
Loren C. Steffy (Goodreads Author)
"They fumbled around the darkened room and found an instruction manual." "By flashlight, they read the starting procedures. They were doing everything right. After five or six futile tries, they gave up and headed back toward the bridge. Back on the bridge, alarms were shrieking and the captain knew they were running out of time. The subsea engineer had hit the emergency d...more
ebook, 256 pages
Published
November 29th 2010
by McGraw-Hill
(first published November 5th 2010)
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The book I read was Drowning in Oil by Loren C. Steffy. This is a nonfiction book that not only details the Deepwater Horizon accident (known as the Gulf Oil Spill), but also the events leading up to it. It goes over the very beginning of the company, and details previous accidents that were BP’s fault, such as the Texas City Refinery explosion in 2005. However its main focus is on the Deepwater Horizon, and the causes of the disaster. This was an informative book, although it could be dry at ti...more
Americans blaming foreigners for all their misfortunes - sad, but typical. This book recounts the failures of BP in the years leading up to the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe. The author, an apparent Houston Energy/Oil expert Loren Steffy, claims that their focus on cost-cutting, hazy management structure and improper safety procedures were the main reason for the high number of fatalities in BP facilities in from 2004 to 2010.
Personally, I dont buy this kind of American tunnel-vision writing. E...more
Personally, I dont buy this kind of American tunnel-vision writing. E...more
Loren Steffy’s Drowning in Oil, published by McGraw Hill is a historical look at the rise of BP and the other major oil companies and their endless pursuit of profits. It takes an objective look at the BP culture first created by John Browne and then perpetuated by Anthony Hayward, and how this culture of profit-driven decision making led to such an unsafe work environment that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was bound to happen. It also takes a look at the lack of proper oversight on the part o...more
The author shows the reader the systematic failures of BP in terms of safety, and how the company culture contributed to numerous disasters and deaths, not just the most recent oil spill. I do wish that the author had included a diagram that shows where all the different parts of the rig are, but readers can also do that on their own. I hope the disconnect between corporate actions and government regulation is corrected.
Drowning in Oil was incredibly interesting and well written. I found it very informative without ever being dry. Steffy's knowledge and background in the industry made him the perfect person to write this book. His experience as a journalist paid off with absolutely stellar descriptions. I've never read a non-fiction that made you feel as if you were in the middle of the action the way this one did.
I also felt like the writing remained non-judgmental, in spite of being clear about who was to bla...more
I also felt like the writing remained non-judgmental, in spite of being clear about who was to bla...more
This book gives an interesting account of the development of BP.
Interesting, but oddly pro-ExxonMobil.
An interesting account of what happened with the Deep Water Horizon explosion in the Gulf and BP as a company and their culture. In many ways the book helps the reader understand a little more clearly how intertwined Big Oil is in the government both federal and state and in the interdependence we all share as citizens.
This book shows why my job stays busy and is important. Well-written and reported, I expect it will be an award winner (Pulitzer?)
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