Why is the US Treating the Brits like dirt? And ONLY the Brits??
-> While 40 per cent of BP’s major shareholders are in Britain, Americans have a 39 per cent stake. BP reportedly has twice as many American as British employees.
-> The US Government auctioned the mineral rights for one tract, the 5,700-acre Mississippi Canyon Block 252, which were bought by BP in March 2008 in an auction held at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. It was called Lease Sale No 206. BP Paid $34 million.
-> The federal Mineral Management Service (MMS) then charges 18.75 per cent royalties on the oil that is recovered. After that, both State and Federal governments will tax the gasoline which is the end product.
BP subsequently sold 35 per cent of the rights to two other oil firms.
-> 10 % stake, is MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC. wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mitsui Oil Exploration Co, of Tokyo, Japan
-> 25 % stake is Anadarko Petroleum Corp. A Houston based American company.
-> Transocean who built the rig has its roots in Alabama. Although its moved its headquarters in search of better tax deals but still the majority of its work force [26,000] are located in the US.
-> Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon rig was built in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries, ten years ago.
-> Transocean was under contract to BP at a rate of $500,000 a day to drill the Macondo Prospect well.
Aboard the deepwater-Horizon on the evening of April 20 were 126 crew. Only seven were employees of BP; 79 of the others worked for Transocean, including the rig’s commander Capt Curt Kuchta. The rest were from a variety of other firms, including Anadarko, Halliburton and M-I Swaco (Texas based engineering services).
Nine of those killed worked for Transocean. The other two were employed by MI Swaco. All the dead were local Americans.
Why are these other companies not held to task? They are not even mentioned. And they made no mention of their lost employees?
More in Depth here:
BUNKERVILLE | God, Guns and Guts Comrades! 