Gulf Disaster More Than an Accident, a Payback!

On April 20th 2010 an unexpected explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico roughly 41 miles from the shores of Louisiana. Some estimates placed it by late May or early June, 2010, as among the largest oil spills in the world with tens of millions of gallons spilled to date originating from a deepwater wellhead 5,000 feet (1,500 m) below the ocean surface. The Deepwater Horizon was a 9-year-old semi-submersible Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU), a massive floating, dynamically positioned drilling rig built by Hyundai Heavy Industries that could operate in waters up to 8,000 feet (2,400 m) deep and drill down to 30,000 feet (9,100 m). It was owned by Transocean, operated under the Marshalese flag of convenience, and was under lease to BP until September 2013.


My premise has been that this disaster, despite accounts that claim methane gas from the well, under high pressure, shot up and out of the drill column marine riser, expanded onto the platform, ignited and exploded engulfing the platform in fire was not an accident, but caused by a group of people who have conspired in creating this disaster with a twofold purpose: 1) financial gain, and 2) expanding an agenda. I have to admit that it is only a theory backed by at best, circumstantial evidence uncovered in the days and months that followed the events of April 20th 2010. In actuality, we will never find the truth as to who is really behind this ecological catastrophe that led to the death of 11 dead victims and millions of others financially affected. We can however, and should analyze all the relevant evidence that allows us to deduce the truth with or without conclusive facts and question those individuals and corporations who can financially gain from it. At best, the following people and/or their corporations are guilty of suspicious behavior, if not guilty of various crimes including manslaughter and a series of environmental crimes. Remember that human nature is to profit from others at all costs.

NALCO: The manufacturer of the chemical dispersant known as Corexit which holds the oil below the water's surface and breaks up the spill into smaller pools is currently being used in the Gulf in an attempt to disperse the oil before it reaches the shoreline known as the “Top Kill”. BP has long claimed that this is the best manner of dealing with the spill however; it does nothing to stop the flow of oil from its source. Corexit is highly toxic and presently banned in Europe. Nalco also has a deep relationship with the University of Chicago Argonne which received $164 Million Dollars in stimulus funds. In November 2009, Warren Buffett, primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people, and the third wealthiest person in the world as of 2010, one of the most successful investors in the world, and one of president Obama’s senior financial advisors, increased his stock holdings of NALCO.

March 31st 2010, (20 days before the “accident”) President Barrack Obama shifts major US policy by opening vast areas of the east and southern coast of the United States to oil and gas exploration. Although as presidential candidate, Obama clearly stated that he intended to keep in place the moratorium that “prevented oil companies from drilling off Florida’s coast”

Goldman Sachs: Lloyd Craig Blankfein Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Goldman Sachs. Blankfein is a contributor to Democratic Party candidates and Goldman employees and their relatives contributed almost a million dollars to Barack Obama's presidential campaign, the second most from any one employer, Blankfein has visited the White House at least four times. Former Goldman executives who hold senior positions in the Obama administration include Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; Mark Patterson, a former Goldman lobbyist who is chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; and Robert Hormats, the undersecretary of state for economic, energy and agricultural affairs. In September 23, 2008, Berkshire Hathaway agreed to purchase $5 billion in Goldman's preferred stock, and also received warrants to buy another $5 billion in Goldman's common stock, exercisable for a five-year term. Goldman also received $10 billion preferred stock investment from the U.S. Treasury in October 2008, as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. In the first quarter ending on March 31st 2010 Goldman Sachs sells over 4 million shares or 44% of BP stock. Was this an active insider trading and did someone at Goldman Sachs have foreknowledge of this disaster?

Tony Hayward: Chief Executive of oil and energy company BP Group, a multinational oil company and the fourth largest company in the world. Hayward was appointed Chief Executive of BP with immediate effect on 1 May 2007, after Lord Browne resigned. On June 5th 2010, the Daily Telegraph, a newspaper largely distributed in the UK reported that a month prior to the April 20th 2010 explosion of the Deep Water Horizon Mr. Hayward sold 1.4 million Sterling Pounds or one third of his BP stock. Why would the CEO of any oil company dump one third of his shares in a company that has just tapped into one of the world’s largest oil supplies? BP and its employees have given more than $3.5 million to federal candidates with the largest chunk of their money going to Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Donations come from a mix of employees and the company’s political action committees — $2.89 million flowed to campaigns from BP-related PACs and about $638,000 came from individuals. In addition, the oil giant has spent millions each year on lobbying — including $15.9 million last year alone — as it has tried to influence energy policy.

April 29th 2010, President Obama sends SWAT teams to inspect all oil platforms and rigs. SWAT stands for special weapons and tactics. Why would the President or anyone else in this administration send a special weapons and tactics team to the Gulf for the purpose of inspecting the oil rigs? Are SWAT teams trained in the inspection of oil rigs and wells or did this administration believe that the April 20th explosion of the Deep Water Horizon oil rig might have been more than a simple accident and therefore sent the aforementioned SWAT teams to protect the other rigs?

May 2nd 2010, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal states in a press release that he requested from the Obama administration large amounts of resources needed by state parishes to handle the situation, including three million feet of absorbent boom, 5 million feet of hard boom and 30 barges. To date, only a fraction of this request has been granted, even though the federal government has all the resources at hand and in storage. Also, immediately after the disaster, several countries including Great Britain, Netherlands, Norway and France offered their vast resources and expertise to help with the clean up only to be declined by the federal government. Why would the government and President Obama drag his proverbial feet on this disaster and not accept foreign help? Frankly, the Jones act that was passed in 1920 to protect the Merchant Marine and unionized ship builders should not be an excuse as this could have easily been waived.

May 27th2010, President Obama initiates a moratorium on all drilling in waters deeper than 500 feet. On June 22nd 2010 this moratorium was overturned by New Orleans federal judge Martin Feldman citing the calamitous impact the measure would have on local economies, ." Although wells already producing oil are not affected by the moratorium, 33 rigs in the process of exploratory drilling are now sitting idle. They employ some 8,000 people. With average weekly oil-rig wages of $1,804, the potential for lost income is about $57.7 million per month. The White House has promised an immediate appeal.