This is a bad joke.
Why didn't the Newfoundland gov't insist on a workable plan to prevent, contain and clean up any spills at the project's inception?
Why are they insisting on inspecting things like BOPs now rather than when they started drilling and periodically ever since?
Why are they only citing this one field operated by Chevron? Does this mean they need to step up their inspections of other companies' offshore facilities? Its not like Chevron is any worse than the rest of the energy giants. Standards should apply to ALL companies and projects.
I know from my history working for energy companies in Alberta, that these guys all try to follow the same blueprint. They're all about "risk assessment" (which is playing the odds as they calculate them) and willing to take shortcuts unless the regulating bodies hold their feet to the fire. People in other provinces tend to look down their noses at Alberta's energy industry (rightfully so in some cases) but the NFLD gov't showed a lot of incompetence by needing to upgrade their safety and environmental standards in this manner, in an environment that is higher risk.
