April 7th, 2009

BP Bully Backstabbed by Corporate Execs

BP Bully Backstabbed by Corporate Execs
Under Congressional Spotlight
An American First!

The U.S. Congress publicly berated British Petroleum (BP) as a stumbling, arrogant, public safety-damaging corporation on September 7, 2006. And a bully was outed and betrayed by his executive.

BP in Alaska

In March, 2006, 270,000 gallons of oil leaked from the Alaska pipeline moving crude from the Prudhoe Bay field. Follow-up inspections led to the discovery of significant pipe corrosion. BP briefly shut down the entire oil field on Aug. 6 stopping the flow of some 400,000 barrels a day. Alaska’s economy and the price of gasoline in the U.S. were immediately negatively impacted.

BP Exploration Alaska was the corporate entity responsible for corrosion monitoring. Maintenance and prevention were routine tasks not only part of good business practices but in order to comply with federal regulations. The BP CIC (Corrosion, Inspection and Chemicals) group was the internal division tasked with corrosion inspection. Until Jan. 2005, its head was Richard C. Woollam, a 20 year veteran at BP.

A Fear-Plagued Workplace

BP should have known about the problem. Workers tried to warn BP but were stifled. They turned to an outsider to be heard.

Charles Hamel, a former oil broker and BP critic was contacted by technicians working within the CIC division in 2004 with worker complaints about inadequate attention to pipe corrosion. BP officials ignored his letter on the employees’ behalf calling for an investigation. Speaking at the National Press Club on Sept. 5, 2006, Hamel spoke of the hyocrisy of BP’s declared “open door policy.” He reported that BP workers historically were fired or transferred for daring to raise concerns about problems. That’s why workers had to turn whistleblowers just to do the job they were paid to do.

Anyone who understands the bullying phenomenon knows that the division boss is the one who sets the tone for openness to complaints or tyrannical rule of a fear-plauged work environment where whistleblowers and doubters are sacrificed by the bully boss.

Of course, the first important aspect of this story to the Workplace Bullying Institute was that ethical BP employees who sought to faithfully do their job of monitoring the Alaska pipeline and prevent leaks were dissuaded from reporting potential problems for years. Woollam controlled the workplace for the corrosion inspectors and maintenance staff. In his role, Woollam was responsible for either establishing or sustaining the tradition of punishing conscientious workers.

Woollam Co$t$ BP Big Buck$

Bullying is expensive for BP. In 2006 alone, the budget for the pipe integrity monitoring program at BP was $74 million. That’s $74 million misspent, wasted dollars because the workers rightfully worried that leaks could happen and by ignoring them, corrosion became a problem. Woollam actually prevented the mandated and important work from getting done — just as all bullies do.

Bullies are too expensive to keep! Typical corporations reflexively protect bullies when they are in management. BP did this with Woollam.

The CIC division did not have a manager from Jan. 2005 to July 2006. Corrosion inspection and pipe maintenance clearly did not matter. Corporate actions speak louder than espoused, grandiose statements about commitment to public safety.

A Revealing Congressional Spotlight

On Sept 7, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations took the political opportunity to beat up Big Oil by berating BP as “broken pipeline” (Rep. Gary Welden, R-Ore) and “BP’s policies are as rusty as its pipelines” (Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas). The House members gave the appearance of holding BP accountable for the pipeline leak and neglect of corrosion concerns.

The top federal regulator for pipelines said that BP was warned about the corrosion, but failed to take steps common in the industry to find and mitigate leaks in the pipelines.

Remarkably, Woollam refused to testify before Congress. He invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

Even more remarkable was that Steve Marshall, the president of BP Exploration Alaska, conceded that Woollam’s “abrasive nature” and “intimidation” might have silenced workers. BP corporate knew that Woollam was a problem. He received counseling of an unknown nature.

This was the rare circumstance when an executive actually withdrew public support for the bully. Woollam was abandoned by the corporation, allowed to fend for himself.

In 2004, BP hired Houston-based law firm Vinson & Elkins to conduct an internal investigation of alleged workplace harassment and falsification of pipeline-corrosion data. The law firm concluded that some pipeline inspectors experienced “fear of retaliation” for reporting safety concerns and other issues, but said there was no evidence that BP employees or contractors were explicitly told not to raise red flags. Naturally, workers fearing retaliation are unlikely to be explicit with company-hired investigators.

In January, 2005, Woollam was transferred to corporate headquarters as a technical consultant, stripped of supervisory responsibilities. At the time of the Sept. 7 Congressional hearing, he was on PAID leave.

Until Woollam is fired, he is another bully on economic life support by executive fiat. All bullied targets await news of the positive message. Failing to terminate him will confirm the tradition that bullies hurt people (and the public and the corporation in this place) with impunity. Woollam will have bullied with no consequences. How many BP whistleblowers did he fire during the time prior to Jan. 2005?

BP’s Crisis Response for the Future

BP America Chairman and President Bob Malone, who also testified on Sept. 7 announced a two-prong future way to address the pipeline corrosion problems.

With respect to the corrosion itself, a panel of three technical experts were appointed to conduct an independent review and to make recommendations. In the next two years, $550 million will be invested on “integrity management.”

With respect to the workplace climate mess Woollam left behind, all worker allegations raised on the North Slope of Alaska since BP acquired ARCO in 2000 will be reviewed by former federal Judge Stanley Sporkin. Sporkin and a small staff will also provide ombuds services and a 24/7 call line for workers. Sporkin is also tasked with making recommendations regarding worker treatment. As a former Federal District Judge and General Counsel to the CIA, Sporkin is a member of the Gavel Consulting Group (with fellow members Ken Starr, Louis Freeh, Wm. Sessions, Wm. Webster) and is a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP law firm in Washington, DC.

The REAL Solution

1. Fire Woollam with no severance package.

2. Expand the BP “Code of Conduct” to address bullying.
The Work Doctor ® organizational consultants specialize in writing and enforcing such policies. Correct remaining bullies who cost BP so much money and cause so much misery; prevent future bullying with WBI-approved anti-bullying specific solutions. Call The Work Doctor now!

Sources:
BP Appoints Ombudsman to Hear Worker Complaints, Associated Press, 9/5/06
BP Chiefs Grilled About Pipelines, The News & Observer, Raleigh, NC, 9/8/06
BP press releases:
BP Chairman Malone Vowed to Fix Problems at his Company
Written testimony of Bob Malone to House Subcommittee, 9/7/06
Written testimony of Steve Marshall to House Subcommittee, 0/7/06

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 at 10:13 am and is filed under Employer Action/Inaction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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