Spills and Spin

The Inside Story of BP

Tom Bergin

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A gripping and eye-opening account of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and consequently a corporation in crisis.

In April 2010, the world watched in alarm as BP's Macondo well suffered a fatal explosion and a catastrophic leak. Over the next three months, amid tense scenes of corporate and political finger-pointing, millions of barrels of crude oil dispersed across the Gulf of Mexico in what became one of the worst oil spills in history.

But there is more to BP's story than this. Tom Bergin, an oil broker turned Reuters reporter, watched the 'two-pipeline company' of the early 1980s grow into a dynamic oil giant and PR machine by the turn of the twenty-first century. His unique access to key figures before, during and after the spill - including former CEO Tony Hayward - has enabled him to piece together this compelling account of a corporation in crisis, and to examine how crucial decisions made during BP's remarkable turnaround paved the way for its darkest hour.

Published: 1 September 2011
ISBN: 9781446457085
Imprint: Cornerstone Digital
Format: EBook
Pages: 304

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Industry

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About the author

Tom Bergin

Tom Bergin has reported on the energy industry for over twelve years, having previously worked as an oil broker. He is in charge of Reuters's coverage of the oil industry in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and his work has been published in The New York Times, The Times, The Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune, The Globe and Mail andthe Shanghai Daily, as well as in dozens of newspapers and magazines around the world. He is a regular television and radio commentator, appearing on CNBC, ITV, the BBC and other outlets as far away as New Zealand. In 2013, he was named Business Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards.

Apart from the oil industry, Tom has reported on financial scandals, including the rise and fall of Enron, environmental issues, EU politics and terrorist attacks. He lives in London with his wife, a former Reuters reporter turned investment banker, and two young sons.

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Praise for Spills and Spin

Bergin, a highly regarded oil industry reporter for Reuters, has provided the best assessment yet of how the accident was rooted in the nature of BP ... There are lessons here about how to prevent a crisis - and handle one - that anyone in business would do well to take in
FT Weekend

Compelling ... Bergin's account stands out as the most thoughtful of the many recent accounts
Daily Telegraph

Daniel Yergin's vast study of the politics of energy, The Quest, may be essential reading, but Bergin's lively account of BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year is a much lighter read. Bergin charts how Lord (John) Browne cunningly rebranded BP as the first "green" oil company, even as key safety issues were ignored. A gripping story of corporate hubris and incompetence
The Sunday Times

Exhaustively researched ... If you want to know why BP got itself into such a mess before and after Deepwater Horizon, Spills and Spin is an excellent and reliable account
Sunday Times

Here is the story not only of BP's darkest day, but of its 20-year transformation from takeover target to dynamic market leader ... For a robust read on the combustible history of big oil ... Bergin has all the raw material you require
The Richmond Magazine

Reveals how the Macondo well disaster was rooted to the history and culture of BP
The Times

Written in tremendous style ... the passages explaining what went wrong on Deepwater Horizon are clear and balanced, though obviously still very controversial. He is also excellent at drawing out the consequences of BP's failures ... [a] very persuasive account
Financial World