In Too Deep

BP and the Drilling Race That Took It Down

De: Stanley Reed, Alison Fitzgerald

Narrado por: Todd McLaren

The truth behind the greatest environmental disaster in US history

In 2005, 15 workers were killed when BP's Texas City Refinery exploded. In 2006, corroded pipes owned by BP led to an oil spill in Alaska. Now, in 2010, 11 men drilling for BP were killed in the blowout of the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico.

What's next? In In Too Deep: BP and the Drilling Race That Took It Down, Stanley Reed - a journalist who has covered BP for over a decade - and investigative reporter Alison Fitzgerald answer not only that question, but also examine why these disasters happen to BP so much more than other large oil companies.

• Places the blame on a corporate culture created by former BP CEO John Browne who was forced to resign in 2007 after he lied in court documents in a case involving his gay lover
• Details a BP built on risk-taking and cost-cutting
• Examines the past, present, and future of BP

In August 2010, BP successfully "killed" the company's damaged deepwater well. But, the environmental fallout and public relations campaign to rebuild the brand are just beginning. In Too Deep details why BP, why now, and what's next for this oil giant.

©2011 Stanley Reed and Alison Fitzgerald (P)2012 Tantor Audio

Excellently researched about BP

As a former employee who was fired after 26 years with company, I was delighted in listening to this book. The authors nailed it. The background or context was spot on. What the authors couldn't know was what motivated project managers to act in a way that resulted in the blowout. The BP bonus system handsomely rewarded managers if they come under budget. They were disincentives from upgrading their projects. If you only delivered the objectives according to your performance contract, you bonus was tiny. The percentage of bonus based on your salary increases substantially with your salary grade. And the BP bosses can count on the greed of the project managers. When a decision was made that resulted in a poor outcome, the bosses would help the blame on the manager. They would say that the manager had full autonomy over their budget. No one ever asks if the project was adequately funded in the first place. Brown said he wasn't responsible for the GoM spill, but it was his system that resulted in the disaster. The managers can never say, uh, we have a mechanical situation that will prevent us from delivering this project on budget. Ok, would come the reply, but wait until performance management time. No bonus for you! There is so much ugliness to be revealed about this sausage making process.