The Spill

The disastrous blowout and oil spill at BP's Deepwater Horizon well in spring 2010 is the subject of this PBS-aired Frontline documentary, presented by correspondent Martin Smith and Abrahm Lustgarden of the investigative nonprofit organization ProPublica. What turned out to be the worst environmental disaster in American history was just the latest setback for BP, which raises serious questions. Has BP grown too fast and taken on too much risk, and can this company be trusted to police itself? The tangled tale of “ambition and its consequences” is told here through interviews with current and former employees and executives, safety experts, and government regulators, tracing BP's growth from its early days as a relatively small and staid operator in the oil business through its development into a high-risk, high-stakes player with a series of major accidents and violations to account for—including a major fire at its Texas City refinery (which resulted in shutdowns and worker fatalities), the collapse of its Thunder Horse oil rig into the Gulf of Mexico after a storm, and oil spills in the pipelines of its Prudhoe Bay field. The film paints a picture of a toxic corporate culture enjoying the benefits of an overly friendly, pro-business government policy environment (not surprisingly, the company refused to speak to the filmmakers). The Spill serves as an effective environmental warning, especially considering that there are more than 100 BP-owned wells in the Gulf of Mexico alone. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)