HEARD ON THE STREET: The BP Blame Game

22nd Jun 2010 22:28

By Liam Denning A DOW JONES COLUMN Days after delivering a kick to BP's posterior by getting it to establish a $20 billion claims fund, the White House finds itself on the wrong end of a federal judge's boot. That actually could be bad for BP. Judge Martin Feldman's ruling against the federal moratorium on deep-water drilling won't change much immediately. The appeals will keep rigs idle. But the ruling gets to the heart of a recurrent question: Who is to blame? The judge says the moratorium is too blunt an instrument, hurting other drillers, regarded as safe until the accident, and local economies for one oil well's problems. He wrote: "Are all airplanes a danger because one was?" For BP, the more favorable answer to that question would be "yes." The oil company has been keen to point out that its design for the blown-out Macondo well wasn't unusual. The moratorium didn't affect BP's output that much anyway, and it subtly shifted the debate over the accident away from BP specifically toward the high risks of drilling in general. Over the past week, rival oil companies, including Macondo partner Anadarko Petroleum, have pointed the finger of blame more clearly at BP. Judge Feldman now has embarrassed an administration already struggling with this disaster. Prior experience suggests that at such moments, BP should look over its shoulder. -Write to Liam Denning at [email protected] (TALK BACK: We invite readers to send us comments on this or other financial news topics. Please email us at [email protected]. Readers should include their full names, work or home addresses and telephone numbers for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit and publish your comments along with your name; we reserve the right not to publish reader comments.) (MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires June 22, 2010 17:28 ET (21:28 GMT)