Editorial: The Gulf Of Mexico Spill – What Lessons?

Analysts are already putting the cost of cleaning the mess resulting from BP (formerly British Petroleum) operations in the Gulf of Mexico at around the one-billion-dollar mark, a level that is bound to bring any oil company, except for those at the very top, down to its knees.

Accusations are flying about regarding what went wrong and if the explosion and its aftermath could not have been avoided, with suggestions that certain governmental agencies had waived safety and environmental requirements and therefore must be held responsible.

As a country that is at the threshold of producing oil offshore, it is clear that only a few people, properly authorized, can have access to the area of operations of the companies involved in the actual oil production. The burden on those with responsibility for ensuring that safety and environmental requirements are upheld therefore becomes very paramount. Operations at these levels require of Ghanaians and other well meaning national participants, dedicated service to duty, without bending the rules or giving anybody a shortcut to the disadvantage of the rest of society.

We at The Business Analyst call on all stakeholders to join in keeping our antennas high so that we do not wait for any calamity to befall us before looking for what went wrong, because as we all know, ‘accidents don’t just happen – they are caused.

The effects of catastrophes, such as happened in the Gulf of Mexico, are not things that could be repaired or restored in a long while. Back here at our Jubilee Oil Field, perhaps except for Anadarko Oil, which is among the oil giants of the world by any standards, none of the partners in the Jubilee Field can survive a calamity of the magnitude such as happened in the Gulf of Mexico.

What many Ghanaians are worried about is whether the country has adequate capacity to deal with the fallout of any oil spillage. And even if experts abound, the other issue is whether they are equipped to execute their tasks to prevent any long-lasting negative effects.

Even as stakeholders in the oil industry await the outcome of thorough investigations into the Gulf of Mexico situation, it is becoming apparent that we cannot afford to be complacent in demanding the best standard practices here. It is only when we demand and ensure adherence to the highest forms of standards that those coming to work here would also come to terms with raising their standards to meet those requirements and not short-change us, knowing full well that any breach of the rules would attract for them stiff sanctions they would want to avoid.

As we wait for first oil to be lifted from the Jubilee Field in the last quarter of the year, Ghanaians can only watch and wait, praying that all those in the field are doing their work well in order not to witness any adverse effects, but a smooth implementation of the plan of development for producing Ghana’s oil. Until then The Business Analyst calls on all Ghanaians to stay vigilant.