PGDM TRIMESTER-III BATCH 4th (2012-2014) Operation Management II Assignment on Comparison between SHELL OIL COMPANY and its

s Competitors (SAUDI ARAMCO & BRITISH PETROLEUM)

SHELL OIL COMPANY

Shell Oil Company is the United States-based subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, a multinational oil company ("oil major") of AngloDutch origins, which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 22,000 Shell employees are based in the U.S. The U.S. head office is in Houston, Texas. Shell Oil Company, including its consolidated companies and its share in equity companies, is one of Americas largest oil and natural gas producers, natural gas marketers, gasoline marketers and petrochemical manufacturers. REVENUE FOR YEAR 2012 (IN MILLION): $ 467153

OPERATIONS:

THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE (PLC) OF SHELL:

The Product Life Cycle (PLC) is based upon the biological life cycle. For example, a seed is planted (introduction); it begins to sprout (growth); it shoots out leaves and puts down roots as it becomes an adult (maturity); after a long period as an adult the plant begins to shrink and die out (decline). In theory it's the same for a product. After a period of development it is introduced or launched into the market; it gains more and more customers as it grows; eventually the market stabilizes and the product becomes mature; then after a period of time the product is overtaken by development and the introduction of superior competitors, it goes into decline and is eventually withdrawn. However, most products fail in the introduction phase. Others have very cyclical maturity phases where declines see the product promoted to regain customers.

Strategies for the differing stages of the Product Life Cycle Introduction Shell has first introduced the petrochemicals in start of twentieth century. Shell create awareness by introduced its new products like shell helix and other shell products. If the product has no or few competitors, a skimming price strategy is employed. Limited numbers of product are available in few channels of distribution. Growth Competitors are attracted into the market with very similar offerings. Products become more profitable and companies form alliances, joint ventures and take each other over. Advertising spend is high and focuses upon building brand. Market share tends to stabilize. Shell products which are at the growth are LPG AND CNG. These two products of shell are its growth because these are newly launched in the market. Maturity Those products that survive the earlier stages tend to spend longest in this phase. Sales grow at a decreasing rate and then stabilize. Producers attempt to differentiate products and brands are key

to this. Price wars and intense competition occur. At this point the market reaches saturation. Producers begin to leave the market due to poor margins. Promotion becomes more widespread and uses a greater variety of media. The products of shell which are at maturity are shell Helix, Rimula, etc. Decline At this point there is a downturn in the market. For example more innovative products are introduced or consumer tastes have changed. There is intense price-cutting and many more products are withdrawn from the market. Profits can be improved by reducing marketing spend and cost cutting. Shell decline products are the Shell Super OIL because by the launching of new products like LPG and CNG.

DISTRIBUTION:
Shell has some 300 distribution facilities and more than 3000 storage tanks in around 70 countries. They move products through Europe and the USA through 9000km of pipeline. Their global fleet of around 7000 shell-owned or contracted trucks travels over 1.7 million km every day and makes a delivery somewhere in the world every seven seconds.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT:

For the last three years shell has spent $3.5 billion to reduce the energy requirements, environmental impacts and running costs of current operations. It also develops technologies that help them capitalize on business-growth opportunities, both in Upstream and in Downstream. And it can create entirely new technologies, such as those needed for alternative fuels or carbon capture and sequestration, which may become part of the worlds energy system in the longer term.

LEGAL ISSUES:
The Corrib gas project entails the extraction of a natural gas deposit off the northwest coast of Ireland. The project includes a development of the Corrib gas field, and constructions of the natural gas pipeline and a gas processing plant. The project is developed by Shell E&P Ireland as operator of the project, in cooperation with Statoil Exploration (Ireland) Limited, and the Vermilion Energy Trus Controversy arrose when planning permission for a pipeline through Brodhaven and Sruth Fada Konn Bay in Kilcommon parish, County Mayo , was granted by the Mayo County Council despite objections from local residents. Shell threatened the residents with court orders if they did not grant the company permission to build through their land. The issue rose to national prominence on the 29th of June 2005 when five protestors, known as the Rossport Five, were imprisoned by local police officers at Shell's request for interfering with Shell employees carrying out work on the local residents' land.The men were released from Cloverhill Prison on 30 September 2005, after 94 days, when Shell applied to the High Court to have the injunction lifted. This came after intense media and political scrutiny of the case.

SAUDI ARAMCO COMPANY

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to 10 trillion US$ in the Financial Times, making it the world's most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels (4.11010 m3), and largest daily oil production. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco operates the world's largest single hydrocarbon network, the Master Gas System. Its yearly production is 7.9 billion barrels (1.26109 m3), and it managed over 100 oil and gas fields in Saudi Arabia, including 279 trillion standard cubic feet (scf) of natural gas reserves. Saudi Aramco owns the Ghawar Field, the world's largest oil field, and the Shaybah Field, one of the world's largest oil fields.

KEY FIGURES:

OPERATIONS:
Exploration Drilling Refining and Chemicals Shipping Research and development Leadership

EXPLORATION: A significant portion of the Saudi Aramco workforce consists of geophysicists and geologists. Saudi Aramco has been exploring for oil and gas reservoirs since 1982. Most of this process takes place at the Exploration and Petroleum Engineering Center (EXPEC). Originally, Saudi Aramco used Cray Supercomputers (CRAY-1M) in its EXPEC Computer Center (ECC) to assist in processing the colossal quantity of data obtained during exploration and in 2001; ECC decided to use Linux clusters as a replacement for the decommissioned Cray systems. ECC installed a new supercomputing system in late 2009 with a disk storage capacity of 1,050 terabytes (i.e., exceeding one petabyte), the largest storage installation in Saudi Aramco's history to support its exploration in the frontier areas and the Red Sea. DRILLING: This is the most crucial process and as such accounts for the largest segment of the Saudi Aramco workforce. Drilling new wells efficiently and then maintaining them requires the company to employ a large number of engineers. With the increasing global demand for oil, Saudi Aramco seeks to expand its oil production. To do this the company seeks to expand the number of engineers and geo-scientists it employs. REFINING AND CHEMICALS: While the company did not originally plan on refining oil, the Saudi government wished to have only one company dealing with oil production. Therefore, on July 1, 1993, the government issued a royal decree merging Saudi Aramco with Samarec, the country's oil refining company. The following year, a Saudi Aramco subsidiary acquired a 40% equity interest in Petron Corporation, the largest crude oil refiner and marketer in the Philippines. Since then, Saudi Aramco has taken on the responsibility of refining oil and distributing it in the country. Currently, Saudi Aramco's refining capacity is more than 4 million barrels per day (640,000 m3/d) (International joint and equity ventures: 2,060 Mbbl/d (328,000,000 m3/d), domestic joint ventures: 1,108 mpbd, and wholly owned domestic operations: 995 Mbbl/d (158,200,000 m3/d).) This figure is set to increase as more projects go online.

Additionally, Saudi Aramco's downstream operations are shifting its emphasis to integrate refineries with petrochemical facilities. Their first venture into it is with Petro Rabigh, which is a joint venture with Sumitomo Chemical Co. that began in 2005 on the coast of the Red Sea.

List of refineries List of domestic refineries: Jeddah Refinery (60,000 bbl/d (9,500 m3/d) nominal capacity) Ras Tanura Refinery (includes a Crude Distillation Unit, a Gas Condensate Unit, a hydrocracker, and catalytic reforming. Riyadh Refinery Yanbu Refinery List of domestic refining ventures: The Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company Ltd. (SAMREF), Yanbu The Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Company (SASREF), Jubail Petro Rabigh, Rabigh Saudi Aramco Lubricating Oil Refining Co. (Luberef) Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company (SATORP), Jubail Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refinery (YASREF), Yanbu 11 July 2012 List of international refining ventures: Fujian Refining and Petrochemical Company (FRPC), People's Republic of China Sinopec SenMei (Fujian) Petroleum Co. Ltd. (SSPC), People's Republic of China Motiva Enterprises LLC, United States Showa Shell, Japan S-Oil, Republic of Korea SHIPPING Saudi Aramco has employed several tankers to ship crude oil, refined oil and gas to various countries. It has created a wholly owned subsidiary company, Vela International Marine Limited, to handle shipping to North America, Europe and Asia. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Saudi Aramco has taken a keen interest in optimizing its processes over the last decade. To this end, it has employed about 500 engineers and scientists specializing in different aspects of the hydrocarbon industry. There are two R&D entities in Saudi Aramco: Exploration and Petroleum Engineering Center Advanced Research Center (EXPEC ARC) which is solely managed by Exploration & Producing and focuses on upstream research. The Research and Development Center (R&DC), which focuses on downstream research and includes bio-research. Leading research undertaken at these two major facilities provides Saudi Aramco with competitive technology solutions throughout the vast range of its petroleum-related activities.

INNOVATION:
Our company is filled with pioneers, leaders and creative thinkers. Because of them, were continually discovering new and better ways of supplying energy to the world. We innovate in every area of our business. Leading through innovation No matter how successful we may be, we never stop exploring how to improve our performance. We believe this keeps us one step ahead in the energy business and ensures a brighter future for our company and those who rely on our products. More inventive than ever before In 2011, a total of 159 patents had been granted to Saudi Aramco. With 208 patent applications filed and 31 patents granted in 2011, our corporate patent portfolio grew by 24 percent. And this trend is set to continue. Our two pioneering research centers, the Research and Development Center (R&DC), and the Exploration and Petroleum Engineering Center Advanced Research Center (EXPEC ARC), continue to push the boundaries of what we can achieve in energy research. Venture Capital for Innovation Established in 2012, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures is our corporate venturing subsidiary. Its mission is to invest globally, in start-up and high-growth companies with technologies of strategic importance to Saudi Aramco and the Kingdom, and to accelerate the development and deployment of these technologies Kingdom-wide. Over the years, weve evolved into a company that not only optimizes the very best established tools and processes but one thats actively involved in developing new technologies. Today, you can see innovation in every aspect of our business. Its why were widely recognized as an industry leader in using advanced technology throughout our company. Rewarding ingenuity Weve been ranked as one of the worlds top 100 companies for operational excellence in manufacturing. This prestigious award was presented to us at the internationally renowned Manufacturing Leadership Summit and its a testament to the ingenuity of our employees. Putting innovation to work Our scientists, researchers and engineers work together and with outside organizations to develop new technologies and adapt existing tools to meet our specific needs.

Thanks to our focus on innovation, weve developed some of our industrys most groundbreaking technologies. GigaPOWERS Our next-generation, award-winning reservoir simulator is setting industry records with its breakthrough billion cell capability of simulating the largest oil fields in the world at seismic resolution to help us better manage our oil reservoirs. Solar power Were working with Solar Frontier K.K. to use the suns energy for power generation and water desalination. Resbots This international award-winning research uses nano-agents, for reservoir in-situ sensing and intervention. Injected into wells and then recovered after journeying through the reservoir, Resbots will record reservoir characteristics and fluid properties as well as release chemicals to improve reservoir conditions for enhanced recovery. A culture of innovation Due to Saudi Aramcos strategic investment in research and development over the years and the ambition and creativity of our employees, we were granted our 159th patent in 2011. Our Intellectual Assets Management (IAM) Team has made innovation a priority. Our new Idea Management System (IMS), a dedicated program for capturing and registering our inventions, will make innovation even easier in the future. Venture Capital for Innovation Established in 2012, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures is our corporate venturing subsidiary. Its mission is to invest globally, in start-up and high-growth companies with technologies of strategic importance to Saudi Aramco and the Kingdom, and to accelerate the development and deployment of these technologies Kingdom-wide. Target Sectors We seek to invest in entrepreneurs commercializing breakthrough technologies that are applicable to our operations, or more generally of strategic importance to the Kingdom. We invest worldwide via our global investment teams located in Dhahran, the United States and Europe. We will consider investments in companies from seed stage to growth venture capital. We seek technologies from all disciplines in the following industry sectors: Upstream oil and gas Downstream oil and gas and value-added products Renewable energy

Energy efficiency Water

ENVIRONMENT:
Today, Saudi Aramco goes beyond environmental compliance and aims to achieve best-in-class performance in the protection and nurturing of the Kingdoms natural habitats and resources. Saudi Aramco broke the mould as far back as 1963 when we adopted our first explicit environmental protection policy. In 2012, the companys Environmental Protection Department (EPD) currently measures the environmental performance of more than 40 different facilities, tracking compliance, awareness and training, and initiatives, benchmarked against 21 different environmental indicators. Saudi Aramco remains committed to the multi-billion dollar Environment Master Plan we launched in 2001. Capital projects included in the plan are expected to reduce volatile organic compound emissions from loading operations in terminals and bulk plants by more than 80 percent. Our commitments for 2012 and beyond include: Reducing total energy consumption of our existing facilities by 2 percent annually for the coming three years. Conducting energy conservation studies of three facilities in 2012. Reducing fresh water consumption by 70 percent over the next decade through leveraging technologies and best industry practices. Implementing the Flare Minimization Program for all remaining plants, including oil producing facilities. Creating our first annual reports site-specific Flare Minimization Plans, which will identify flaring sources in each facility and provide classification, analysis and short and long-term mitigation measures to minimize flaring at refineries, natural gas liquids facilities and gas plants. Engaging 85 percent of the Dhahran-based workforce and 55 percent of other operations in the recycling program. Meeting 46 percent of landscape irrigation water needs through sanitary tertiary wastewater. Planting 200,000 mangrove trees each year as part of our plan to plant over 1 million mangrove trees during the next five years.

Developing Cleaner Energy Technologies Saudi Aramco has positioned itself on the front line of the battle to preserve the environment, utilizing the latest technologies and research to make a meaningful difference. In just over 17 months, the companys Research and Development Center developed a prototype vehicle to demonstrate the viability of capturing and temporarily storing carbon dioxide onboard a passenger vehicle. Saudi Aramco is also piloting a number of exciting solar powered projects in collaboration with the Saudi Electricity Company and Solar Frontier, our equity partner with Showa Shell of Japan. We installed a 500-kilowatt solar farm on Farasan Island on the Red Sea as just part of our efforts to meet the Kingdoms surging demand for electricity. Raising awareness and positive action We worked to raise awareness for environmental protection, launching a Mangrove Transplantation Campaign at Tarut Bay near our Ras Tanura Refinery to educate the public on the importance of mangroves to the marine environment. At the core of Saudi Aramcos plans to develop an Eco-Park in the area is a commitment to plant 200,000 mangrove trees each year with a target of planting over 1 million over the next five years. In addition, Saudi Aramco published the Marine Atlas of the Western Arabian Gulf, a richly illustrated publication produced in partnership with the Center for Environment and Water at the Research Institute of King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals. It is a comprehensive documentation of the diverse marine and coastal environments of the Arabian Gulf. The Saudi Aramco-commissioned documentary Seas of Change shines a light on the companys environmental efforts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Were also partnering with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative (MITEI) to fund research into new energy technologies and processing techniques. We worked with King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology and Warsaws Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology to research a new Electron Beam Flue Gas Treatment technology which won the National Oil Companies Forum Environmental Stewardship Award. Were also involved in various industry associations, including: Regional Clean Sea Organization International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association Oil Companies International Marine Forum International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation

NETWORK:
North America Europe Asia

FINANCIAL DATA (2011):

Fiscal Year End: December Revenue: $182 billion Oil reserves: 259.9 billion barrels (4.1321010 m3) Production: Average 9.0 million barrels per day (1,910,000 m3/d)

FUTURE OF ENERGY
The world needs petroleum At Saudi Aramco, we believe renewable energy will ultimately play an important role in helping to meet growing world energy demand responsibly. For future generations, petroleum will remain a vital commodity, affecting almost every aspect of 21st century life. Forecasts to the year 2030 unanimously predict that oil will remain the main component of the global energy mix even as global energy demand rises by 40 percent. That also means the world now has even more time for the gradual but meaningful development of renewables, and for them to overcome technical, economic, environmental and consumer acceptance obstacles. It should be an era in which we, as an industry, fullfil our commitments to humanity by helping raise and sustain quality of life across the globe while meeting our obligations to the natural environment. Responsible management of resources By using innovative technology, we can manage our reserves wisely and responsibly, helping us meet global energy needs with less impact on the environment. Geologists and engineers in our Geosteering Operations Center work around the clock, remotely and in real time, to guide drilling activities hundreds of miles away. This state-of-the-art technique ensures that each well maximizes recovery and performs as efficiently as possible. Our wells are among the most advanced in the industry. We use maximum reservoir contact wells, Smart Well downhole flow control systems and Intelligent Fields technology to obtain the maximum amount of oil over time. For example, at the Haradh-III increment, we used just 32 maximum reservoir contact wells as opposed to the 280 conventional wells that would have been required. In 2011, our Computational Modeling Technnology team continued to improve the speed and computational capability of GigaPOWERS, Saudi Aramcos proprietary reservoir simulation technology. Built in-house to handle the needs of the companys extensive reservoirs, it is the worlds only reservoir simulator with the ability to handle massive models, while also being coupled with state-of-the-art visual technologies.

This patented technology is an innovative reservoir simulation technique that helps improve the production rates of our oil and gas reservoirs, ensuring we can continually meet our supply targets. Gearing up for the future Every day, were striving to make our petroleum products greener and more sustainable. Were running major research projects to help us achieve whole crude oil desulfurization so we can produce low-sulfur sweet crude oil. Were working to develop new combustion technologies, improve engine efficiencies and reduce emissions. Renewables: A bright future The realistic, market-driven development of alternative sources of energy is undeniably important, and we believe renewable energy will constitute a key part of our energy future. Given the projected growth in total demand over the next century, contributions from all energy sources will be necessary. We are piloting a number of solar power projects. In collaboration with the Saudi Electricity Company and Solar Frontier, our equity partner with Showa Shell of Japan, we installed a 500-kilowatt solar farm on Farasan Island in the Red Sea. This is part of our efforts to meet the Kingdoms ever-increasing demand for electricity through clean energy solutions. Saudi Aramcos construction of the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) will include solar panels that will generate 3.5 megawatts of energy. A new Saudi Aramco-built solar facility at the King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) will generate two megawatts of energy. In order to stay at the forefront of solar energy developments, we have set up a solar technology park in Dhahran that hosts more than 30 different technology vendors. The objective is to monitor and assess the development of emerging technologies and their application in the Kingdom.

BRITISH PETROLEUM COMPANY

BP is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by 2011 revenues and is one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". It is vertically integrated and operates in all areas of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading. It also has renewable energy activities in biofuels and wind power. BP has operations in over 80 countries, produces around 3.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and has around 21,800 service stations worldwide. Its largest division is BP America, which is the second-largest producer of oil and gas in the United States. As of December 2011, BP had total proven commercial reserves of 17.75 billion barrels of oil equivalent. BP has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalisation of 81.4 billion as of 6 July 2012, the fourth-largest of any company listed on the London Stock Exchange. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

REVENUE: Year on year BP PLC's net income fell 54.93% from 25.70bn to 11.58bn despite relatively flat revenues. A contributing factor has been an increase in the percentage of sales devoted to the cost of goods sold from 80.15% to 84.26%. Growth Rate: Year on year, growth in dividends per share increased 17.86% while earnings per share excluding extraordinary items fell by 54.99%. The positive trend in dividend payments is noteworthy since very few companies in the Oil & Gas Operations industry pay a dividend. Additionally when measured on a five year annualized basis, both dividend per share and earnings per share growth ranked in-line with the industry average relative to its peers. Oil refined per day Sales and other operating revenues1 Proved reserves2 Number of employees 2.4 million barrels $375,580 million (year 2012) 17,000 million barrels of oil equivalent 85,700 (at 31 Dec 2012)

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES:

ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD: BP was named by Multinational Monitor as one of the ten worst corporations in both 2001 and 2005 based on its environmental and human rights records. In 1991 BP was cited as the most polluting company in the US based on EPA toxic release data. In 2007, the United States Department of Justice announced that BP had agreed to plead guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act for its conduct that resulted in the fatal explosion on 23 March 2005 at the Texas City Refinery. As part of the guilty plea BP agreed to pay a $50 million criminal fine, the largest ever assessed under the Clean Air Act. Environmental initiatives As of 11 February 2007, BP announced that it would spend $8 billion over ten years to research alternative methods of fuel, including natural gas, hydrogen, solar, and wind.[citation needed] A $500 million grant to the University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to create an Energy Biosciences Institute has recently come under attack over concerns about the global impacts of the research and privatisation of public universities. BP patented the Dracone Barge to aid in oil spill clean-ups across the world. BP was a founding sponsor of the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit in 1971. In 1997 BP became the first major oil company to publicly acknowledge the need to take steps against climate change.[248] Prior to this, BP was a member of the Global Climate Coalition an industry organisation established to promote global warming scepticism but withdrew in 1997,

saying "the time to consider the policy dimensions of climate change is not when the link between greenhouse gases and climate change is conclusively proven, but when the possibility cannot be discounted and is taken seriously by the society of which we are part. We in BP have reached that point." In 2009, Tony Hayward apparently shifted gears from former chief executive Lord Browne's focus on alternative energy, announcing that safety was the company's "number one priority".

LEGAL ISSUES:
Accusations of greenwashing According to activist Antonia Juhasz, BP's investment in green technologies peaked at 4% of its exploratory budget prior to cutbacks, including the discontinuation of the Solar Programme and the closure of the alternative energy headquarters in London. Juhasz claims this amounts to an exercise in greenwashing. Greenpeace has questioned BP branding itself "Beyond Petroleum", citing its 2008 budget which included $20 billion in fossil fuel investment and $1.5 billion in all alternative forms of energy. 2010 Texas City chemical leak Two weeks prior to the Deepwater Horizon explosion, BP admitted that malfunctioning equipment lead to the release of over 530,000 lbs of chemicals into the air of Texas City and surrounding areas from 6 April to 16 May. The leak included 17,000 pounds of benzene (a known carcinogen), 37,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides (which contribute to respiratory problems), and 186,000 pounds of carbon monoxide. In June 2012, over 50,000 Texas City residents joined a class-action suit against BP, alleging they got sick in 2010 from the 41-day emissions release from the refinery. Texas has also sued BP over the release of emissions. BP says the release harmed no one. 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill On 20 April 2010, the semi-submersible exploratory offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon located in the Macondo Prospect field in the Gulf of Mexico exploded after a blowout; it sank two days later, killing 11 people and causing the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.[278][279][280] Before the well was capped on 15 July 2010, an estimated 4.9 million barrels (780103 m3) of oil was spilled and 1.8 million US gallons (6,800 m3) of Corexit dispersant was applied. The spill caused extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats and to the Gulf's fishing and tourism industries as well as human health impacts. On 14 November 2012, BP and the Department of Justice reached a $4.5 billion settlement, the largest of its kind in U.S. history. BP also agreed to plead guilty to 11 felony counts related to the deaths of the 11 workers. Beyond the 11 counts of manslaughter, the government charged several individuals as well. David Rainey, who worked for BP during the spill response, was indicted on charges of obstruction of Congress and false statements. He allegedly cherry-picked pages from some documents and withheld others "to make the spill appear less catastrophic than it was.

Two other BP supervisors on board the rig when it exploded were charged with manslaughter and other counts The settlement has not resolved the fines under the Clean Water Act, which could be as much as $21 billion. Speaking at a news conference, a U.S. federal official said, The explosion of the rig was a disaster that resulted from BPs culture of privileging profit over prudence. The total amount paid out by BP by November 2012 was $42 billion. In November 2012, the U.S. Government temporarily banned BP from bidding any new federal contracts. Estimates of the total amount of penalties that BP may be required to pay have reached as high as $90 billion.