Clean Water Act. BP, now with its first American chief executive in Bob Dudley, was keen to emphasise the significance of the two contractors being drawn into the legal net, because those firms have argued that BP was at the heart of the Gulf accident. BP is trying to convince them to contribute their share of the compensation it has paid out already. "The issuance today of notices of non-compliance to BP, Transocean and Halliburton makes clear that contractors, like operators, are responsible for properly conducting their deepwater drilling activities and are accountable to the US government and the American public for their conduct," said BP in a statement. The Obama administration has infuriated environmentalists by giving BP the green light to bid for new drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico. Surely 'environmentalists' would be just as 'infuriated' if Obama were to give the 'green light' to any of the other giant petrochemical companies or is okay if the Gulf of Mexico is fucked up again by a US corporation? I am not in the least surprised that BP are in the running for more drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. After all, BP does not have as bad a safety record as US companies like Exxon. Yes, BP were unlucky with the Deepwater Horizon accident in that several of the fail-safe mechanisms failed simultaneously. And 11 operatives lost their lives. However, it is worth remembering that BP is one of the biggest employers in the region and most