BP’s problem in the Gulf of Mexico is many things, including a scandalous waste of money. That much was clear from the headline figure accompanying yesterday’s second-quarter results announcement – a pre-tax charge of $32.2bn to cover the quantifiable cost of the clean-up. That is about half as much again as this year’s estimated replacement cost profit, and consists of $2.9bn spent so far and $29.3bn to come, including the $20bn committed to an escrow fund. It is the price, in lost revenues for exploration and development, lost dividends for shareholders and lost tax revenues for governments, of an entirely avoidable accident. When Big Oil screws up, it screws up big.
英国石油(BP)在墨西哥湾遭遇的问题造成了诸多后果，其中一点，是资金的惊人浪费。这一点在该公司昨日发布的第二季度财报中显露无遗：为清理漏油的可计成本，BP拨备了322亿美元的税前资金。这大约是该集团今年预期重置成本利润的一半，其中包括迄今已经花费的29亿美元和未来将花费的293亿美元（包括设立托管基金所需的200亿美元）。这是为一场完全可以避免的事故所付出的代价。BP损失了开采和开发收益，股东损失了股息，政府损失了税收。大型石油公司一旦出问题，问题就小不了。