Why Projects Fail: A Case Study of the Bp Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico
Autor: Florella Koukou-Dali • November 8, 2016 • Research Paper • 4,670 Words (19 Pages) • 1,101 Views
WHY PROJECTS FAIL: A CASE STUDY OF THE BP OIL SPILL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR THE ENERGY INDUSTRY
MSc. OIL & GAS MANAGEMENT
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Table of Contents
Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
Background.................................................................................................................................4
Definition of a Project ................................................................................................................5
What Caused The Deepwater Horizon Project to Fail?...............................................................5
Where Did BP's Senior Management Fail in Their Project Planning?........................................8
Was The Response to this Tragic Incident Adequate & Fit for Purpose?.................................11
Conclusions & Recommendations ...........................................................................................14
References.................................................................................................................................15
1. Introduction
On April 20, 2010, a massive offshore drilling rig, commonly referred to as the Deepwater Horizon, exploded and set fire (Cohen, 2012). The blast occurred during BP's engagement in a dangerous deepwater drilling activity, which resulted in the loss of eleven lives, with seventeen people being injured as oil pipes ruptured and caused millions of barrels of crude oil to spill into the Gulf of Mexico (Reed & Fiztgerald, 2010). Although the gushing well was capped eighty-seven days later, it brought about a lot of pollution to the locality’s aquatic wildlife and destroyed its fishing and tourism industries (Baligira, 2013). The debacle, which is said to be the largest accidental oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry, prompted the US government to establish a panel to look into the incident. The findings of the investigation suggest that the accident was unavoidable because of a series of serious blunders involving BP, Transocean, and Halliburton (Reed & Fiztgerald, 2010). As the main operator and principal developer of the operations, BP was held responsible for the damages that occurred and was seriously criticised for cutting corners on a project that was already over budget and far behind schedule; while Halliburton was accused of not properly cementing and testing the wellhead, and Transocean for not maintaining the blowout preventer correctly (Ingersoll et al., 2012). Other studies on the unprecedented incident have revealed similar results, emphasising mainly how senior management and federal agencies failed in their responsibility to ensure the overall safety of the rig. Due to the enormity and complexity of the spill, it has been necessary to sift through the wreckage to learn some lifelong lessons about risk management (Lehner & Deans, 2010). Thus, this report seeks to critically analyse what caused the Deepwater Horizon project to fail. Focusing on BP, it will examine the firm's organisational design in order to determine where senior management failed in their project planning. The report is of academic and professional relevance as it draws on various project management theories and will make recommendations for the management of future projects.
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