BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg has been asked to meet with President Obama on June 16, and he will accept the invitation. Many critics have maintained that Svanberg has remained aloof from the problems in the Gulf. That job has been left CEO Tony Hayward. Some institutional holders of BP shares believe that Svanberg’s attitude make it likely that he will be pushed out of BP instead of Hayward.
“The BP Deepwater Horizon spill has had a profound impact on Americans living in the Gulf region and time is of the essence in resolving these issues,” Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen wrote in his “invitation.”It is hard to imagine what the meeting will yield, other than another chance for Obama to show that he continues to pressure BP daily. He has rattled his saber because of BP’s reluctance to say it will cover all costs of the Deepwater Horizon clear-up. UK Prime Minister Cameron will talk to Obama this weekend, probably to voice concern that the American government is being overly critical of BP.
The conversations with BP and the UK government will leave Obama with a decision about whether he wishes to ruffle the feathers of America’s greatest ally.
A visit by BP’s Chairman will also not do anything to reduce the effects of the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe. Both BP and the federal government will be hurt by new figures that the leak a mile beneath the Gulf’s surface is running at 30,000 barrels per day, about double earlier estimates. The US has no means to plug the flow and must rely entirely on BP for that work.
A visit from the head of BP may be a good photo opportunity for both sides, and another chance for Obama to press the severity of the problem and the need for immediate solutions. But, it does absolutely nothing to address the ability of any party to stop the large oil spill in American history.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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