Gulf of Mexico oil spill – what are the real lessons?

Dr Gary Robertshaw
April 2011

At its first annual meeting since the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster BP was met with a hostile reception and heckled by angry demonstrators. Fishermen from the US joined UK trade unionists and environmentalists for almost four hours of protests at the AGM in London. Scuffles broke out outside the hall and proceedings had to be halted at one stage to evict a group of people.

During his speech, BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg acknowledged the devastation that the disaster had wrought on Gulf communities and also the energy giant itself. Life had "not been easy" for BP during the past 12 months and the company had to "work hard to earn back trust", he said.

Given the increasing demand for oil as Chinese and Indian economies surge, its likely that we will soon pass peak oil production (some commentators have argued we have already exceeded this point). Unless efforts are made to wean ourselves off of oil and other fossil fuels then that will continue to put pressure on oil companies to source supplies from increasingly remote and delicate regions of the planet. For example, Alaska and the Amazon. Thereby increasing the chances of similar events occurring in future. In this context, the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe may become a forerunner for likely similar events in the future.

In this context, the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster isn’t simply about learning lessons about safety and being more rigorous in procedures to minimise the possibility of a recurrence (though these are clearly needed). It’s also a lesson in the dangers of oil dependency and the need for large-scale, viable renewable energy production.

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