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Old 07-08-2010, 03:05 PM   #87 (permalink)
jamesqf
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clanny View Post
As for the perception (reading between the lines in some of the posts here) that bp puts profit today/this month/this year ahead of any long term company gain is complete nonsense. They're drilling these wells to operate them for 20+ years. One disaster like this will wipe all the profits from this well for it's lifetime. Why take the slightest chance on that for the sake of a few $$ spent today? It's madness and bg oil doesn't make decisions like that.
But manifestly, they DO make decisions like that. Got the evidence right there in the Gulf of Mexico.

I think part of your problem is that you're thinking that BP the company makes decisions. In reality, the decisions are made by thousands of individuals all along the management chain. So for instance the boss of a drill rig might decide to use water instead of drilling mud while capping a test well, because it's cheaper & quicker so (if it works) he brings the project in on schedule & under budget, and maybe gets bonus and promotion prospects.

So that manager's risk/reward for that decision is way out of sync with the company's potential losses. He's not going to have to pay any of the cost if things go wrong.
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