The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was the largest environmental disaster in North American history. It was brought on in part by new technology allowing development of oil and gas reserves in deep water. Given the scope of the spill, why do companies take a risk of such a disaster given the scope of the litigation following the disaster?
◦ They didn't care about the risk, they just drove forward.
◦ They just assume their lawyers can win any lawsuit, regardless of the disaster.
◦ The oil and gas industry is poor at assessing risk, and didn't understand the risk.
◦ The potential profit is so large from a major oil find that the companies take the risk, try to use all cautions to minimize risk, but sometimes fail.
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