Spend profits on their obligations

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, August 19, 2006

Does anyone remember what happened when the Exxon Valdez ran aground in 1989, and spilled thousands upon thousands of barrels of crude into Prince William Sound?

Remember all the suffering which Exxon has basically ignored by those who stood to lose their livelihoods, while reaping billions in profits over the next 20 years?

Remember how they still refuse to pay out $5 billion in damages to those affected the most – tying up the lawsuits in courts for years?

Yep. We remember. But it seems as though big oil doesn’t actually care about their own equipment anymore.

According to reports, it has been 14 years since BP used something called a “pig” to clean out their pipes – feeling that they didn’t need to do it anymore.

After all, oil doesn’t corrode pipes, right?

Well, a small accident back in March revealed just how lax their attentiveness to detail really is, when it comes to safety.

And now, we have to pay for it for months, even a year or two on end. (After all, they have to replace 73 percent of their pipeline.)

Or rather, does BP have to pay for it?

I wonder … just how much does $7.3 billion in profits shield the oil company from shoddy maintenance these days?

Schuyler Thorpe

Everett