Recouping from the biggest oil spill in US history

According to an article on cnn.com, the BP oil spill is, so far, responsible for 260,000-540,000 barrels of oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico.

The ‘89 Exxon Valdez leaked about 250,000 barrels.

So, even if the proposed kill stop works, the BP oil spill is still the biggest oil spill in US history.

What now? And how do we recover from this?

US President Obama has taken ownership, saying the US government is responsible for the response effort. So where does this leave oil companies?

And even if the government is in charge of the clean up, that doesn’t stop the damage that was already done. Lives were lost, and there has been irreparable damage done to the environment. What we need now is to stop pointing fingers.

We can’t go back in time to stop the BP oil spill. So what we must concentrate on now is cleaning up the mess, and making sure we’re better prepared in the future–with advanced technology on the rigs, tighter safety regulations, and a solid recovery plan to immediately set in action in case of another spill.

Because, we have to face facts, in all likelyhood, there will be another oil spill in the future. Accidents do happen. What we need to do is minimize the risk, and prevent another oil spill of this magnitude.

I welcome your thoughts on the subject.

By Jessica Livingston

Want to learn more? Read the latest Oil & Gas Industry analysis now.

LEARN MORE:

• The Top 10 Oil & Gas Companies in the World
• 50 Oil & Gas People You NEED To Follow On Twitter
• Oil & Gas Industry: An Introduction
• Oil and Gas Production - An Introduction
• Oil and Gas Technology: The Future Is Now
• FPSO Resource Centre: Introduction to Floating Production Storage and Offloading