1. Do you think the U. S. public’s response to the disaster would have been different had the company been more localized, for example, with a U.S. PR firm and U.S. executives?

2. Do you think that BP should have had someone like Dudley in charge of the response from the beginning? Why or why not?

3. What role may our common use of English have played in BP’s decisions to have CEO Hayward manage the public aspect of the recovery?

British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig exploded on April 20, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11, injuring many, and allowing oil to gush from the wellhead for three months. This was the largest oil spill recorded to date, with a release of 4.9 million barrels of oil. The clean up was well organized and massive, with 1,074 miles of coastline contaminated. Many of the problems BP encountered may be explained as a result of poor understanding of cultural differences between the UK and U.S.