Serial Criminal BP: Crimes Against Humanity & Political Clout

DAY THREE:  Crimes Against Humanity & The Environment

Right at four years ago, in the summer of 2006, BP lost a multi-million pound settlement to a group of Colombian farmers after being accused of benefiting from a regime of terror enforced by Colombian government paramilitaries protecting one of BP's pipelines.

BP has been heavily criticized for its complicity in human rights violations (defined), and environmental and safety concerns stemming from its involvements with the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

The Crees (first nation's peoples) in Canada have described BP as being complicit in "the biggest environmental crime on the planet".  Probably true, that is up until April 20, 2010.  BP is one of a number of companies there using a process to extract oil from sand that produces four times as much CO2 as drilling!

Concerned and fearful British Columbians have called on BP to cease its "Mist Mountain" Coalbed Methane Project in a stretch of the Rocky Mountains which is immediately adjacent to the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

After the Texas City explosion ( detailed yesterday) OSHA found that two BP refineries, one in Texas City, Texas and the other in Toledo, Ohio were responsible for 97% of the 851 safety violations by oil refiners from June 2007 to last February---two months before the Gulf disaster.  These two sites had between them 829 safety violations leaving only 23 to be spread out over every other refinery in the nation!

Mother Jones Magazine has twice (2001 & 2003)  cited BP as one of the ten worst corporations as a result of their shoddy environmental and human rights history.  BP, according to Public Interest Research
Group investigations, caused 104 oil spills in the one year period of 1997 to 1998.  Additionally, BP has paid a $10-million EPA fine for its mismanagement of US refineries and an imposed fine of $1.7-million after having been charged with burning polluted gases its Ohio refinery.

The Center for Responsive Politics found that BP is an aggressive and generous donor to American political campaigns, particularly Republican.  Of the more than $5-million of identifiable corporate contributions since 1990, 72% have gone to Republicans

Speaking from one side of his mouth in 2002, BPs chief executive, Lord Browne of Madingly, said, "...from now on we will make no political contributions from corporate funds anywhere in the world".  Seven years later, in 2009, BP was still bankrolling Washington, that year alone shelling out $16-million to K-Street lobbyists topping its own previous record of $10.4-million. Not surprisingly, BP sought exemptions from U.S. corporate laws and reforms.

Three days ago we set out to prove that the British company now calling itself BP was no better than career criminals and repeat offenders who, in many U.S. jurisdictions, find themselves facing life imprisonment.  We believe we have made our case and that BP should be treated as we would any other thug that repeatedly preys on the unsuspecting, weak and innocent.

Therefore, we beseech those with the authority to immediately: (1) Cancel all visas and lift the passports of all foreign nationals employed by BP above the level of "line" manager and incarcerate them until such time as they may be deported. (2) Seize and nationalize all holdings, accounts, businesses, and any and all other BP assets now held by BP in the United States or its territories. (3)  Put Americans in those executive positions left vacant by the deportation of foreign nationals.  (4) Use all net revenues, immediate and future, to satisfy the legitimate claims of those sustaining loss as the result of the current oil spill catastrophe and to clean up and restore damaged coastlines, seabeds, beaches, communities and habitats.  (5) Once all such claims have been settled and all restoration is complete or the restoration process is properly funded and ongoing all ensuing net revenues should be placed in a "lock-box", interest-earning fund dedicated to the preservation and protection of Social Security, Medicare, and other social safety net programs.

It is really no different than seizing the assets and expelling any other repeat offenders!

BP: A Habitual Offender (Part Two)

DAY TWO - BP's Arrogance & Scofflaw Behavior

Operating under various aliases our "Career Criminal" has amassed a record worthy of even the most hardened serial criminals, from its sordid beginnings as a monopoly in Iran to its current day-to-day death, depredation, and destruction brought on by its stupidity, greed, negligence and arrogant disregard for safety.

Let's take a look at this "Repeat Offender's" rap sheet, shall we? 

1993-1995:  BP copped a plea and paid out $22-million, which included; $500,000 in criminal fines, $6.5-million in civil penalties, and the establishment of a $15-million environmental management system.  This was to head off more severe penalties and consequences for its illegal dumping of waste oil, paint thinner, and other toxic and hazardous material on Endicott Island, Alaska.  No Known Deaths

2005: BP, after a series of less serious accidents and unaddressed engineering problems and issues had a catastrophic explosion at its Texas City, Texas refinery.  Thousands of nearby residents had to flee their homes, 180 people were injured, and known dead were 15.

Cost-saving measures that curtailed important maintenance and safety measures were traced directly to company executives in London.

The company pleaded out again.  This time pleading guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act, receiving a $50-million fine and 3-years probation.

Four years later OSHA socked BP with an additional $87-million in fines after reporting that, leading up to the deadly accident, inspectors had uncovered 270 safety violations that had previously gone unfixed and 439 new violations.   Known Death Toll:  15

 2006 - 2007: North to Alaska, again. In October of  2007 the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation reported a toxic spill of nearly 2,000 gallons of mixed methanol, crude oil and water at the BP managed Prudhoe Bay oil field.  Methanol is poisonous to humans, animals and plants.

Earlier, in August 2006, BP made headlines because it had to shut down its Prudhoe Bay oil operations due to leaks of crude oil and diesel fuel brought on by pipeline corrosion. In May 2007, BP suffered yet another partial shutdown due to leaks,  All told, current estimates are that BP, as a result of these leaks, released 5,000 barrels of oil into the fragile environment.  So far, nearly four years later, only 1,513 barrels of liquids, 5,200 cubic yard of contaminated snow, and 328 cubic yards of soiled gravel have been recovered

In 2007, BP had another partial shutdown resulting from leaks,  Experts interpreted this as another example of the company's decision to curtail badly needed maintenance of its pipelines.  No Known Deaths

2008:  In this two year period, three workers were killed in separate accidents at BP's Texas City Refinery.  Known Death Toll: 3.

2007: Again, BP cops a plea and pays a $303-million fine for manipulating propane prices.  The plea-bargained settlement included a $125-million civil fine to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, $100-million to the Justice department, $53.3-million to a restitution fund for the victims of its con games, and $25-million to a USPS consumer fraud education fund.  No known deaths.

2008:  The Russians get a dose of BP's street-corner shell game, and in 2010 impose a 1.1-billion Ruble fine ($35.2-million U.S.) after TNK/BP was found to have abused antitrust legislation by setting artificially high oil products prices in 2008.  No Known Deaths.

2009: In April, in good weather, off the coast of Scotland a helicopter with workers leaving BP's platform in the Miller oilfield crashed.  Known Death Toll: 16

2010: On April 20, The Deepwater Horizon explosion, fire and oil spill, in the Gulf of Mexico, becomes a ghastly scenario of death, destruction and catastrophic environmental impact of horrific dimensions as government, academia, and oil company experts dither in the search for an effective way to shut off the flow of oil sullying coastlines, towns, communities, businesses, fisheries, hatcheries and habitats for decades.

While a full investigation lies in the future, it is already known that BP did not equip the rig with a gas alarm system that could have shut off the power in the engine room.  Early on, an investigation revealed that critical gas and fire detection sensors and connected shutoff systems were not operating on the rig and that it was likely that other backstop mechanisms and air-intake shutoff  valves failed.  Known Death toll: 11

Coming Tomorrow: Revelations of Political Influence, Human Rights Violations, and More Environmental & Safety Violations

BP: A Habitual Offender

DAY ONE - The Many Faces of BP

If BP were a person (hold that thought just a few minutes) it would be considered a career offender and incarcerated for life in a Super Max prison somewhere out in a desert.  And since SOTUS has ruled that, as far as political contributions go, corporation have the same privileges as do "people", let's present the argument for the declaration of BP as a "career offender".

First, let's get to know the history of, and, the various aliases used by this "habitual criminal" (legal definition provided)   

Anglo-Persian Oil Company, which morphed into the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company shortly after shelling out £5,000 to future Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, to get the British government to grant them a monopoly on Iranian oil reserves.

After World War II the Iranians nationalized their oil industry (National Iranian Oil Company) and after a series of International Court of Justice legal maneuvers failed,  the American CIA, authorized by President Eisenhower, conducted a coup which placed the Shah on the Peacock Throne.  The Shah quickly abolished the Iranian constitution,  and shortly thereafter AIOC resumed operations in Iran as part of an international consortium in which it was limited to a 40% share.

In 1954 AIOC renamed itself and became British Petroleum Company (BP).  In 1959 the renamed company expanded its operations in the Middle-East to include Alaska and later, in 1965, became the first to strike oil in the North Sea.  In 1978 British Petroleum took over Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio) while still operating in Iran and elsewhere.  Virtually unfazed by the 1979 Iranian Revolution, it cut a deal with Ayatollah Khoumeini and his followers and came out with new contrast giving 90% to Britsih Petroleum and 10% to Khoumeini and his "followers".

During the 1980s and 1990s BP initiated and aggressive campaign of take-over and fierce expansion which included, the British governments holdings in BP, Britoil and the remaining publicly traded shares of Sohio, some Gulf Oil stations and a refinery in the American Southeast, Amoco, Arco, and Burmah-Castro.

In 2000, after solidifying its gains, British Petroleum assumed yet another identity, BP, with a tagline of Beyond Petroleum.  Since 2001, BP has operated throughout America under various identities including; BP, Amoco, and Arco.  In 2004, it shifted its petrochemical business into an entity called Innovene but then quickly sold it for $9-billion to a privately held British company.

Currently, as part of its efforts to find and exploit new reserves, BP, in liaison with three Russian oil-oligarchs, has gained  50% ownership of TNK-BP in the former Soviet Union.

Today, throughout the world BP wears more than a dozen (retail) faces: BP, ampm, Aral, Arco, BP Travel Centre, BP Connect, BP Express, BP Shop, BP2go, Castrol, Air Bp & BP Shipping.

Coming Tomorrow:  Death, Destruction, Price Manipulation