THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
MAY 17, 2010
By James Herron
When BP implements increasingly desperate-sounding methods to shut down its leaking well next weekblasting golf balls, shredded rubber and other junk into the well before filling it with cementthe rest of the oil industry will no doubt be praying for its success. [Read BP’s latest press statement on the disaster here.]
You might think that companies like Royal Dutch Shell or ExxonMobil, both of which have had their share of environmental or safety scandals, would feel some relief that someone else is drawing the political heat. But the failure of a company as well funded, experienced and technologically advanced as BP to get a grip on this disaster after almost four weeks damages others too.