BP's greenwashed image is being tarnished by a catastrophic oil spill. (AFP Photo)
New York. Oil giant BP brands itself a friend of the environment, an energy company that goes “beyond petroleum.”
That image, worth billions of dollars, is being sullied by the company’s inability to contain a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
As the expanding oil slick threatens marshlands and wildlife along the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi, BP faces perhaps the biggest public relations challenge an oil company has experienced in the United States since the Exxon Valdez tanker disaster in Alaska in 1989.
Since the accident, BP’s stock market value has declined by roughly $25 billion.
Marketing experts and environmentalists say BP’s response so far has been superior to Exxon’s treatment of the Valdez crash. BP devoted most of its home page on its Web site to the disaster, and it’s held regular news conferences.
But BP also appeared to initially play down the extent of the oil spill. It estimated that 1,000 barrels of oil were seeping from the sea bed each day. The government later corrected that figure to five times as much.
BP has had its share of recent high-profile accidents, including an explosion at a BP refinery in Texas City in 2005 that killed 15 people and injured 170. Regulators in October hit BP with a record $87 million fine for failing to correct safety hazards at the plant. BP has contested the fine.
The costs could be much higher this time. Besides cleanup expenses now running at $6 million a day, BP faces potential fines and costs to ensure better safety on the rigs it operates in the Gulf. And there will be legal costs. Two lawsuits have already been filed related to the blast and potential damage to the commercial shrimping industry.
Eileen Campbell, chief executive of market research company Millward Brown, said BP risks becoming associated with photos of oil-soaked wildlife. That would stand in stark contrast to the green image that BP took years to build. The company has invested in solar and wind energy projects. It devoted $500 million on biofuels research, and CEO Tony Hayward supports capping carbon emissions. It spent nearly $76 million in the United States on radio and TV last year, according to Kantar Media.
The company’s efforts have contributed to a brand name worth about $17.3 billion, marketing firm Millward Brown said.
BP is considered the most environmentally friendly of major oil companies, the firm said. In contrast, Exxon’s brand is based more on its reputation for innovation, corporate citizenship and communication with shareholders.
In the grand scheme, BP hasn’t gone much beyond its core business of petroleum. Of its $73 billion in revenue in the first quarter, about $72.3 billion of that came from the exploration, production, refining and marketing of oil and natural gas. The rest came from “other businesses” such as solar and wind energy.
David Oesting, an Alaska lawyer representing the plaintiffs in a class-action suit that followed the Valdez crash, doesn’t believe BP will suffer as much as Exxon.
Exxon eventually spent more than $4.3 billion on the cleanup and on lawsuits to compensate residents. Two decades later, it continues to pay for the damages. Oesting said he won $1 billion in the suit, and years later he’s still cutting checks to the victims.
BP will benefit from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which was established after the Valdez crash by collecting 8 cents from the industry for every barrel of oil produced or imported to the United States. The fund has about $1.6 billion available to cover damages suffered by coastal residents, fishermen and other affected businesses, according to the US Coast Guard.
BP now is at the front lines of what is likely to be a renewed attack on Big Oil.
The Obama administration last month endorsed a plan to allow more drilling along the East and Gulf coasts. Edward Markey, chairman of a House energy committee, has asked the heads of BP and four other oil companies to testify about the spill.
Richard Charter, policy adviser for Defenders of Wildlife, said the rig explosion will reverberate for years in public debates about whether to expand offshore drilling. He said the unfolding environmental damage along Louisiana’s coast will linger in the American public’s memory.
“It will remind people that there is a risk with this kind of industrialization of the coast,” he said.
Associated Press
Oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill (whitish swirl at lower right) approaches the Mississippi Delta region in April 2010. Industry experts say the spill may rival the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989. (Photo: NASA)
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