Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jesse Joyner on April 20, 2026 at 9:06

Thanks for posting this, Skip. I'm a bit surprised the movie used real company names, but this is doable if the events depicted were truthful.

Me, what I find a bit of a disconnect, is the blunt "Hollywood" dialogue when it criticizes BP, etc. I've been around the oil patch ever since I was born. I've worked for majors and for regulators. I find the "in-your-face" honesty in the movie clip to be overly dramatized. In other words, guys in the industry at that level tend to hedge their words and not call people out to their face. No, not in real life, not on a rig in the GOM. But only in reel life, i.e., in the movie business, a screenwriter/director can take license with what actually was said, making such a scene much more dramatic for the audience.

Bottom line. There's movie entertainment, and there's the gavotte of what actually happened. I'd be surprised if 20% of the scene's dialogue could've been said in that one room over those few minutes. Good moviemaking, but not 100% truth-telling . . . although, in hindsight, after the blowout tragedy that occurred . . . the message does hold up. The storytelling is well done. True. A good movie. We need more of 'em like that.   

• ▶ Reply

Oil & Gas ProPermalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on April 20, 2026 at 10:59

Eleven avoidable deaths.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkGOukBrqgs&t=30s

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jesse Joyner on April 20, 2026 at 13:20

Greed is a wicked taskmaster when worker lives are put at risk to increase corporate profit. 60 MINUTES did an enlightening investigation as to the who, what, why, and how of the blowout.

And as is common knowledge in the oil patch, certain companies tend to have a higher "accident" level than others.

As I recall, in general, going back numerous decades (before the blowout) . . . BP refineries had more "harmful" incidents than the other seven sisters. Specifically, the Texas City BP plant has been known to have a history of accidents. (I could be wrong, but I think that's been published in the press.)

Me, I'd prefer to work for Big Exxon on the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, than at any BP plant. I'd also pick Chevron, Texaco, Shell, and Conoco -- as better refineries to be employed at. But, of course, BP may also have some "safer" offshore rigs and refineries than certain of its competitors . . . in various locations. So this could be a localized management call.

That said, when a blue-collar worker needs a job, they tend to apply to HR wherever they're hiring. Many folks are willing to take a risk for the right money.

Even when an operator has a bad report card. Money talks.  

• ▶ Reply