Critics detect a pattern in BP's recent woes

 批评家在BP近期事故中发现某种模式

“WHAT BP experienced was a perfect storm where ageing infrastructure, overzealous cost-cutting, inadequate design and risk blindness all converged. The result was the worst workplace catastrophe in more than a decade.” The views of the speaker in this instance, Carolyn Merritt of America's Chemical Safety Board (CSB), carry particular weight for BP, a big British oil firm. She is supervising a federal investigation into a fire at a BP refinery in Texas last year which killed 15 people and injured 180.

“英国石油公司（BP）基础设施老化，成本费用过度裁减，设计方案存在缺陷以及对潜在风险的盲目无视，这一切全都聚集起来，形成了一场完美风暴，导致十多年来美国作业场所最严重的灾难。” 美国国家化工安全及危害调查委员会（CSB）负责该事件的发言人卡罗琳·梅里特 （Carolyn Merritt）女士的这番言论对BP这个英国老牌石油公司别具意义。梅里特女士眼下正在监督针对BP在德克萨斯州的炼油厂去年发生的火灾展开的联邦调查。该起事故致死15人，致伤180人。

AP One former BP employee 一位前任BP雇员

The CSB, which will release its final report on the accident next year, argues that the overflowing tank that caused the fire was too small, had leaked in the past, and should have been replaced, but was not, due to penny-pinching. It acknowledges that BP had begun to tackle safety problems at the refinery before disaster struck, but suggests the firm had concentrated on the form, rather than the substance, of regulations. The CSB has no punitive powers—it is simply charged with figuring out what went wrong, and how the accident might have been avoided. But the relatives of dead workers who are suing BP can now use Mrs Merritt's remarks in a trial to begin on November 8th. Her words could also have a bearing on a criminal trial, if prosecutors decide to embark on one. Later this month, a panel chaired by James Baker, a former secretary of state, will issue a report on BP's general safety culture, fulfilling one of the CSB's earlier recommendations.

CSB声称，引发大火的溢流罐体积过小且有泄漏历史，本应更换但却因财政吝啬而未能施行。它将于明年发布事故的最终报告。委员会认为BP在灾难发生前就业已着手处理炼油厂的安全问题，但暗示该公司只注重规章条例的形式而非内容。CSB不具惩处权力，它只负责查明事故缘由以及如何避免事故的发生。然而，起诉BP的死者家属可在11月8日的开审中可借用梅里特的言辞。如果控方决定进行刑事起诉，那么她的言论也可产生影响。本月末，由詹姆斯?贝克(James Baker)任主席的陪审团将发布关于BP安全文化概况的报告，这是CSB早前的一项建议。

In other words, there is no end in sight for BP. Moreover, the fire at Texas City is only one of a number of embarrassing lapses of late. In March, it suffered a big oil spill near Prudhoe Bay in Alaska. In June, financial regulators accused its trading arm of rigging propane prices by cornering the market. In all three instances, BP is accused of ignoring earlier signs of trouble, and, in the case of the fire and the pipeline, of putting profits before safety. The firm admits to making mistakes, and has tightened procedures and strengthened oversight of the divisions involved. It says it was spending more than its rivals on maintenance, for example, and will now budget even more. But it insists there is no overarching failing of management or corporate culture.

换言之，对BP而言，终点遥遥无期。而且，德克萨斯城的火灾只是近期多起令人窘迫的过失中的一起。三月，该公司在阿拉斯加的普拉德霍湾(Prudhoe Bay)遭受了大规模溢油的事故。六月，金融检察机构指控BP的贸易部门通过囤积居奇不法操控丙完价格。BP在这三起事例中，因无视事故的早期迹象而备受责难，而在德克萨斯火灾和输油管道事件上，则被指责利润第一安全第二。BP承认犯错，并且加强了对程序环节和有关部门的监管。例如，该公司表示他们过去的维护费用超逾对手，并且将续增预算，但坚称并未包庇管理或企业文化的失误。

Indeed, until recently, the prowess of BP's management had been one of the company's strongest selling points. Its boss, John Browne, was widely admired for cutting costs and streamlining management. Now some analysts wonder whether this strategy might have gone too far. As Fadel Gheit, of Oppenheimer, a financial-services firm, says of BP's top brass, “They were invincible, and now they are ordinary mortals.”

的确，在过去，BP的管理才能一直是公司最强劲的卖点之一，而首席执行官约翰?布朗(John Browne)因降低成本和精简管理层而广受钦佩。但眼下，一些分析家怀疑这种策略是否沿用得过度了。正如奥本海默（Oppenheimer）金融公司的分析师法德勒?盖特（Fadel Gheit）指出的，BP的最高层“曾经所向披靡，而今则平庸无奇了。”

注释：

1.America's Chemical Safety Board (CSB): 美国国家化工安全及危害调查委员会（CBS）是一个独立的联邦机构，由美国国会1990年颁布的空气洁净法案修正案授权成立，并于1998年1月正式运转。其宗旨是预防工业化学事故以及拯救生命(国家科技图书文件中心网站)。

2.The Prudhoe Bay：普拉德霍湾(Prudhoe Bay)位于阿拉斯加北极圈海岸，是美国最大的油田。

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