Rachel Maddow blasts BP 2 videos inside Huffington Post
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Rachel Maddow blasted BP COO Doug Suttles Monday night for what she found were highly misleading and inaccurate responses during an interview Suttles gave to NBC's Tom Costello.
Maddow had two main issues with the interview: 1. Suttles' explanation for why BP included animals such as walruses --which are typically not found in the region-- in a list of potentially endangered animals in BP's oil spill plan for the Gulf of Mexico; and 2. Suttles' attempt to defend the lack of technological innovation when it came to responding to spills by arguing that there had been "so few big spills" over the past few decades.
"The events haven't driven the technology change that's out there," Suttles told Costello.
Maddow called Suttles' explanation of the walrus mistake "not even a remotely believable answer."
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TNK-BP, BP's 50-50 Russian joint venture, eyed Ruhr Oel in 2003, but at the time BP opposed the deal.
BP and Russia and Venezuela do business
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Published: Friday, August 27, 2010
Bylined to: Guy Chazan
Russia's Rosneft in "advanced negotiations" 50% of Ruhr Oel from PDVSA
Guy Chazan: In a coup for the Kremlin, Russian oil major OAO Rosneft is close to acquiring stakes in four German refineries, marking one of the largest purchases of assets in western Europe by a state-controlled Russian energy company.
The deal would have positive implications for BP PLC, the UK oil major that has been badly hit by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Rosneft is in "advanced negotiations" to buy a 50% stake in Ruhr Oel GmbH from the Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA for between $1 billion and $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. These people said it could be several weeks before a deal is concluded.
Ruhr Oel is a 50-50 joint venture between PDVSA and BP. Formed in 1983, it has stakes in a number of German refineries -- Bayern Oil, Gelsenkirchen, MiRO Karlsruhe and PCK Schwedt -- which together account for around a quarter of all German oil-refining capacity.
The deal would be a boon for BP, the embattled UK oil major that has a right of first refusal on PDVSA's stake. In exchange for waiving that right, BP has been offered a lucrative deal by Rosneft to explore for oil in the Arctic Ocean, according to people familiar with the matter.
Such an agreement would be a big vote of confidence in BP, whose reputation has been battered by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Industry observers have speculated that the Deepwater Horizon disaster could deter state-controlled oil companies in Russia, Africa and the Middle East from wanting to work with BP, badly crimping its growth prospects.
Rosneft and BP already have close ties. The UK major bought around $1 billion worth of Rosneft shares when the company listed in London in 2006. The two are partners in a clutch of oil exploration projects off Russia's far eastern island of Sakhalin. And in 2006, they signed an agreement to jointly bid for and develop oil and gas fields in the Russian Arctic. The Ruhr Oel deal will build on that arrangement, "taking it to a new level," a person familiar with the matter said. The person said it would relate to a specific area of the Arctic, and might involve BP and Rosneft being given a license to jointly explore for oil there.
Russia's Arctic seas are thought to contain billions of barrels of oil and gas. But the hurdles to actually producing hydrocarbons in this harsh, remote environment are huge. The most advanced project -- the vast Shtokman gas field in the Barents Sea, which OAO Gazprom is developing with Statoil ASA of Norway and France's Total SA -- has faced repeated delays. Also, BP and Rosneft have had little success in their exploration campaign off Sakhalin.
Russian oil companies have long been on a mission to expand beyond Russia's borders, and have shown particular interest in refineries in western Europe, many of which are heavily dependent on Russian crude. OAO Lukoil, one of Russia's largest oil producers, has been more successful than its peers, buying a stake in a Dutch refinery from Total last year and a stake in Italian refiner ERG's Isab di Priolo refinery in 2008.
TNK-BP, BP's 50-50 Russian joint venture, eyed Ruhr Oel in 2003, but at the time BP opposed the deal.
Russia and Italy
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Lukoil buys 49 percent of ERG's main refinery in Sicily
By Ian Simpson and Katya Golubkova
MILAN/MOSCOW | Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:35am EDT
MILAN/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian oil major Lukoil (LKOH.MM) bought a 49 percent stake in Italian refiner ERG SpA's Mediterranean plant for 1.35 billion euros ($2.1 billion), in a sign of the growing energy ties between Russia and Italy.
Lukoil and ERG (ERG.MI), Italy's second-biggest refiner by market share, agreed a joint venture valued at 2.75 billion euros to control ERG's Isab di Priolo refinery on Sicily, ERG said in a statement on Tuesday.
ERG will have 51 percent of the new company.
Russia's BP guy stepping down
BP E&P boss Inglis to step down from Russian unit
Wed, Sep 8 2010
By Tom Bergin
LONDON | Sat Sep 11, 2010 7:48am EDT
LONDON (Reuters) - BP Plc said its (BP.L) head of exploration and production, the unit responsible for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, is to step down from the board of BP's Russian joint venture, TNK-BP.
A BP spokesman said on Saturday that Andy Inglis was stepping down to make way for outgoing BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward, who was nominated to the TNK-BP board as part of an exit package agreed in the wake of the United States' worst oil spill.
Some BP insiders have said Inglis might be forced out of his position atop BP's core production unit following the blown-out well disaster, which has prompted U.S. lawmakers to accuse BP of fundamental shortcomings on safety in its drilling operations.
But spokesman Andrew Gowers said Inglis retained the full support of BP's board.
"The decision to nominate Tony to the TNK-BP board required another director to make way, and Andy has had quite a few things on his plate recently," Gowers said.
TNK-BP pumps around 2 million barrels per day and is Russia's third-largest oil producer.
Inglis has taken a leading role in the effort to permanently seal the leaking Macondo, on which a temporary cap was fitted on July 15.
BP has promised to take a "hard look" at itself following the oil spill, and employees expect some big changes beyond the departure of Hayward, who angered the U.S. public with a series of gaffes following the accident.
American Bob Dudley, who is currently heading the spill response effort, will replace Hayward on October 1.
In addition to questioning the future of Inglis, some staffers have said Doug Suttles, Chief Operating Officer of BP's Exploration and Production unit, could also be in the line of fire.
Gowers said Suttles also retained the support of the BP board.
Andy Inglis wikipedia
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Andrew graduated from Pembroke College with an MA in engineering in 1980.
Andrew joined BP Oil in 1980 as a mechanical engineer and was employed on several North sea oil projects. From 1994 Inglis worked his way through executive positions until he moved to Alaska to manage the Kuparuk field. Since his position in Alaska, Inglis has travelled the world working as an EHM for BP by lending growth rates for regions such as but not exclusive to Azerbaijan, Angola, Algeria, Gulf of Mexico, Egypt, Trinidad and the Pacific region. Between 1997-99 Inglis was responsible for the Deepwater oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.[3]
