Comments on: Exxon: You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby!

By: KAREN

KAREN — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:26:13 +0000

Rob,
Interesting that what you’re really saying is (pardon my shouting)
EXXON’S SAFETY STANDARDS ARE UNQUESTIONABLE, AND WE’RE NOT GOING TO USE DOUBLE HULL VESSELS BECAUSE WE SPEND THE MONEY ON COMPENSATING UNGRATEFUL WHINERS WHO CLAIM THAT THE SHORELINES STILL CAN’T BE USED FOR YEARS TO COME EVEN AFTER WE CLEAN IT UP. WHAT’S A FEW ANIMAL POPULATIONS TO ANYONE? SO A FEW MORE ACCIDENTS WILL, I MEAN, MAY HAPPEN – EVERYONE EXPECTS THAT. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT?! WE MAKE SURE OIL IS EXPENSIVE – YOU’LL GET IT FOR FREE!

By: KAREN

KAREN — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:25:29 +0000

Rob,
Interesting that what you’re really saying is (pardon my shouting)
OUR SAFETY STANDARDS ARE UNQUESTIONABLE, AND WE’RE NOT GOING TO USE DOUBLE HULL VESSELS BECAUSE WE SPEND THE MONEY ON COMPENSATING UNGRATEFUL WHINERS WHO CLAIM THAT THE SHORELINES STILL CAN’T BE USED FOR YEARS TO COME EVEN AFTER WE CLEAN IT UP. WHAT’S A FEW ANIMAL POPULATIONS TO ANYONE? SO A FEW MORE ACCIDENTS WILL, I MEAN, MAY HAPPEN – EVERYONE EXPECTS THAT. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT?! WE MAKE SURE OIL IS EXPENSIVE – YOU’LL GET IT FOR FREE!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:47:28 +0000

Nick, as you would expect we have been asked a lot about these issues lately. On the issue of compensation we have spent over $3.8 billion as a result of the accident, including compensatory payments, cleanup payments, settlements and fines. This includes – Voluntary payment of $300 million to 11,000 Alaskans and businesses affected by the spill;$383 million paid to plaintiffs in punitive damages case; $2.2 billion spent on the cleanup; and $1 billion in settlements with the state and federal governments.
On your second question our view is that safe marine transportation goes beyond hull design. Each component (people, procedures, equipment) plays a vital role to ensure the integrity of the transportation system. Safety, security, reliability and quality are the governing principles on which a sound marine transportation system must operate. We view our record since the Valdez as supporting our disciplined and systematic approach to marine safety.

By: ES

ES — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:04:05 +0000

http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/1092322

By: Nick Aster

Nick Aster — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:35:15 +0000

Rob, great to hear from Exxon on this and happy that you can speak openly about Exxon’s mistakes of the past. I would, however be curious to hear someone’s response to the double hull issue mentioned above, and more importantly the fact that (as widely reported) Exxon continues to tie up lawsuits in the courts to avoid paying many of the costs associated with the spill. I’m still troubled by that!

By: Rob Young

Rob Young — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:11:03 +0000

As an ExxonMobil employee I can say without any reservation that the 1989 Valdez accident was one of the lowest points in ExxonMobil’s 125-year. However we took full responsibility for the accident and in the aftermath made a number of critical and important improvements to marine safety. Most importantly we undertook significant operational reforms and implemented an exceptionally thorough operational management system to prevent future incidents. Today the screening process for the selection of vessels is comprehensive and robust and is performed by experts in technical departments that are not part of the commercial function. We are particularly proud of the spill prevention performance of our global marine transportation affiliates since the Valdez spill. With approximately 650 vessels in service each day there were in fact no spills in 2008 from ExxonMobil marine affiliate owned/operated tank ships or from those on long-term lease. We consider this strong performance encouraging and it serves as a solid platform for continuous improvement.