Media Press Release by BP on the Oil Spill on Gulf of Mexico - Article Example

Crisis Media Release Name: Class: Media Press release by BP on the Oil Spill on Gulf of Mexico. Release Date 12th January 2011. Following the extensive Oil spill on The US Gulf of Mexico, due to a widespread explosion of gas at our Macondo exploration well, we are profoundly sad to announce the demise of eleven people and scores of others injured. We sincerely regret the deaths and acknowledge the enormous losses suffered by families and friends of the deceased. We also regret and apologize for the damage caused to the environment and livelihoods affected by the spill. We, however, continue with our efforts of putting urgent and strict measures in place to ensure that the incidence never occurs again. The accident was caused by the integrity failure of the well leading to a lack of hydrostatic control, making the well unable to control the flow of oil. This caused the release of hydrocarbons that caused the initial explosions with the BOP emergency tools failing to cover the well. The company is committed to work with the government, various experts in the oil industry and academic gurus in the country to come up with ways of stopping the leak into the Gulf, contain the spilling oil and destroy the well permanently. We confirm the spilling of oil approximately 3.26 million barrels and the company has managed to collect 0.81 million barrels from the sea. We undertook the cleanup process under the direction of the government, and we are working on mechanisms of compensating the affected individuals as quickly as possible. We will prioritize the safety, health and overall welfare of everyone, including those who responded to the spill and come up with plans and policies that will ensure a fast economic recovery of seafood industries and tourism on the Gulf Coast. Our experts in natural resources have conducted research on the amount of the negative impact the spill had on the natural resources available in the gulf coast. So far the company has spent over $14 billion on all these responsive mechanisms, and we are committed to spending more to ensure normalcy returns. The company has also committed to funding research on understanding the Gulf ecosystem and be able to prepare and mitigate the impact of oil spills both in the Gulf and elsewhere in the world. The company is determined to mobilize as many resources as possible to resolve the issue permanently in the most efficient way. We have put together quality facilities and experts to ensure the process is running smoothly. We are committed to protecting the coast and marine ecosystem through the help of the USA coast guard who has allowed us to go ahead with our plans. We call for calm from the members of the public and all the affected individuals as we try our best to ensure that activities in the Gulf return to normal and that such incident will never occur again. We sincerely thank the Federal Government and the USA Coast Guard and all the environmental bodies for their relentless support to remove the mess that has occurred. Even as we await court rulings on some of the cases filed by affected individuals we are still committed to ensuring that safety and health are our priority and we will continue to update you on our toil as we move on. Thank you. For Further information contact BP Press Office line in London Phone: 20 7496 4076 Email: bppress@bp.com Or Our Offices in the US HOUSTON Phone: +1 281 366 4463
Email: uspress@bp.com Critical Analysis The unfortunate spill of oil into the Gulf of Mexico sparked the beginning of blame games being thrown from many areas. BP being a foreign company needs to approach the issue with caution to avoid the bombarding of the media from all corners. Being one of the biggest oil firms in the oil industry with a huge financial base, the company should be well represented in public relations to help curb the effects of such an adverse incident in their operations. It was important therefore to start with the most humane stories of regretting the deaths, injury and the consequences the oil spill has had on the livelihood of the individuals in the Gulf coast. The media release has tried to provide accurate and complete information to the media, in the months that followed the oil spill to ensure that there was no contradiction first from their various departments and thirdly from all the organizations they were working with which included the government, the USA gold coast, the environmental bodies and the affected individuals. Such an approach will help the company to receive compassion and some level of understanding from the public and the media at large (Scott & Allen, 2008 p. 34). Having been targeted in the past for lacking preparation and not being time conscious the press release had to show some urgent measures taken by the company to prevent further oil spills and the company’s effort to recover the spilled oil from the gulf. In the early days, the company had tried to pass blame games to other people and accused the media of being unjust to them because it was a foreign corporation but in the end, this made matters worse. This was a significant occurrence, and it was not going to go away quickly, hence the need to approach it with discretion and care. The press release above puts in mind the fact that it cannot control the flow of information that is coming from the media for they will follow a worthy story to the end, rather look for ways to co-operate with them by providing all the legitimate and useful information denying them a chance to dig for more on their own (Scott & Allen, 2008 p. 14). In earlier press releases the company had underestimated the multitude problem it was facing, hence the need to publish information that addressed all the areas that the public were interested in like how the victims will be compensated, their efforts to recover the spilled oil and prevention tactics being used to stop further spill, did the company have the required expertise to deal with the problem and if not what were they doing to get them and how they were working together with the federal government to deal with the issue. All this area has been discussed in the press release, and it would avoid panicking from top level management and help them manage the situation better. Building a company’s reputation after it has been damaged is a very complicated process. Immediately the media pointed out that the information being given in earlier press releases were suspect information, something had to be done to return the credibility of the company. The press release has focused on the financial support they are giving, and has failed to blame either Halliburton or Transocean, to help gain back its credibility ((Scott & Allen, 2008 p. 4).4). The press release has ensured that no time has been wasted in repairing their image but tried and regains media approval and confidence of their customers who are their most indispensable stakeholders. It was important for the release to give honest and accurate information that could be useful both to the public and the media in general. With the media giving a live spill of the oil in the Gulf, it would have been unfair to the victims and the public for BP to continue giving contradicting information. This press release should help the company in achieving both short term and long term strategies of defending their reputation. The company is charged with the onus of upholding its reputation to their customers, shareholders and the people of the Gulf to aid them continue doing business in the gulf and avoid competitors take over. The release focused on ways of dealing with the oil spill, prevent further damage to the environment and prevent ecological and human deaths, rather than focusing on reducing the fines they will be charged, avoiding criminal charges against them and the financial payout they would give. The above press release has put all that in their release, hence a credit to the company in aligning their efforts with the government and the media. The communication strategy that has been adopted by the above press release focuses on transparency and continuous update of information as it comes. This helps in building a long-term reputation of the firm in the eyes of the public. The company has chosen to be humble both to the media, government and affected individuals. The crisis press release has focused on future events of investing in research strategies that will ensure no such event occurs again. This is very crucial as the public needs to be assured that such unfortunate incident will never occur again (Scott & Allen, 2008 p. 34). Committing to research on ways of avoiding the occurrence of such an incident is very key in ensuring that the company remains operational. Their clients do not run away from their products, the shareholders continue to have confidence in their operations and they are not received with hostility in their areas of operation not only in the Gulf coast but all over the world. A press release should ensure that all the affected stakeholders’ interests are addressed, and they are satisfied. With the media always digging for more negative information it is important not to give them a chance to destroy your reputation or if it happens, because you cannot control the flow of information, let it be on the minimal. Always try to be as honest as possible and rely on facts and not speculations. Bibliography Scott, M & Allen, H 2008, 'Effective Public Relations’, Prentice-Hall, New York. Read More

The company is determined to mobilize as many resources as possible to resolve the issue permanently in the most efficient way. We have put together quality facilities and experts to ensure the process is running smoothly. We are committed to protecting the coast and marine ecosystem through the help of the USA coast guard who has allowed us to go ahead with our plans. We call for calm from the members of the public and all the affected individuals as we try our best to ensure that activities in the Gulf return to normal and that such incident will never occur again.

We sincerely thank the Federal Government and the USA Coast Guard and all the environmental bodies for their relentless support to remove the mess that has occurred. Even as we await court rulings on some of the cases filed by affected individuals we are still committed to ensuring that safety and health are our priority and we will continue to update you on our toil as we move on. Thank you. For Further information contact BP Press Office line in London Phone: 20 7496 4076 Email: bppress@bp.

com Or Our Offices in the US HOUSTON Phone: +1 281 366 4463
Email: uspress@bp.com Critical Analysis The unfortunate spill of oil into the Gulf of Mexico sparked the beginning of blame games being thrown from many areas. BP being a foreign company needs to approach the issue with caution to avoid the bombarding of the media from all corners. Being one of the biggest oil firms in the oil industry with a huge financial base, the company should be well represented in public relations to help curb the effects of such an adverse incident in their operations.

It was important therefore to start with the most humane stories of regretting the deaths, injury and the consequences the oil spill has had on the livelihood of the individuals in the Gulf coast. The media release has tried to provide accurate and complete information to the media, in the months that followed the oil spill to ensure that there was no contradiction first from their various departments and thirdly from all the organizations they were working with which included the government, the USA gold coast, the environmental bodies and the affected individuals.

Such an approach will help the company to receive compassion and some level of understanding from the public and the media at large (Scott & Allen, 2008 p. 34). Having been targeted in the past for lacking preparation and not being time conscious the press release had to show some urgent measures taken by the company to prevent further oil spills and the company’s effort to recover the spilled oil from the gulf. In the early days, the company had tried to pass blame games to other people and accused the media of being unjust to them because it was a foreign corporation but in the end, this made matters worse.

This was a significant occurrence, and it was not going to go away quickly, hence the need to approach it with discretion and care. The press release above puts in mind the fact that it cannot control the flow of information that is coming from the media for they will follow a worthy story to the end, rather look for ways to co-operate with them by providing all the legitimate and useful information denying them a chance to dig for more on their own (Scott & Allen, 2008 p. 14). In earlier press releases the company had underestimated the multitude problem it was facing, hence the need to publish information that addressed all the areas that the public were interested in like how the victims will be compensated, their efforts to recover the spilled oil and prevention tactics being used to stop further spill, did the company have the required expertise to deal with the problem and if not what were they doing to get them and how they were working together with the federal government to deal with the issue.

All this area has been discussed in the press release, and it would avoid panicking from top level management and help them manage the situation better.

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