Call it a tragic irony.
BP, now under federal scrutiny because of its role in the deadly Gulf of Mexico explosion and oil spill, is one of three finalists for a federal award honoring offshore oil companies for “outstanding safety and pollution prevention.”
The winner of the award – chosen before the April 20 oil rig incident – was to be announced this coming Monday at a luncheon in Houston. But the U.S. Department of Interior this week postponed the awards ceremony, saying it needs to devote its resources to the ongoing situation resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and fire.
I understand that there is uncertainty in the world. It’s possible that BP deserves the award but bad luck yields a negative outcome. But why can’t they just admit that’s it’s lousy PR? Why do they have to pretend the reason the ceremoney is being “postponed” is because of a need to focus on the spill?
