(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in the United States and Britain hold differing views on the main culprit of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. While 63 per cent of Americans think BP Plc deserves most of the blame for the incident, only 31 per cent of Britons concur.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in the United States and Britain hold differing views on the main culprit of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. While 63 per cent of Americans think BP Plc deserves most of the blame for the incident, only 31 per cent of Britons concur.
On Apr. 20, a blowout at an oil well owned by BP Plc and located southeast of the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico caused a major oil spill which is now considered the largest in U.S. history. Several attempts aimed at containing the oil spill failed.
On Jun. 15, U.S. President Barack Obama discussed the oil spill in an address to the nation, saying, "We will fight this spill with everything we’ve got for as long as it takes. We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused. And we will do whatever’s necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this tragedy."
On Jun. 23, British Prime Minister David Cameron declared at the House of Commons: "BP itself wants to pay for the clean-up, wants to stop the gushing of the oil into the Gulf, recognizes it’s going to have to pay money in respect of fishermen and others who have lost their livelihoods. But we do want to make sure that this remains a strong and stable company, for our benefit but also for the benefit of the United States."
Polling Data
As you may know, an oil platform collapsed in the Gulf of Mexico on Apr. 20 and has been leaking oil since. From what you have seen, read or heard about this, how much blame do you think each one of the following deserves for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? – "Most of the Blame" responses listed
|
USA
|
BRI
|
|
|
BP Plc (majority owner of the oil field)
|
63%
|
31%
|
|
Transocean Ltd. (owner and operator of the oil rig)
|
30%
|
37%
|
|
Halliburton Energy Services Inc. (was involved in casing the oil well)
|
22%
|
22%
|
|
Cameron International Corp. (provider of blowout-prevention equipment)
|
21%
|
22%
|
|
The U.S. government (establishes regulations for offshore drilling)
|
20%
|
14%
|
Source: Angus Reid Public Opinion
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,004 American adults and 2,018 British adults, conducted on Jun. 8 and Jun. 9, 2010. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent for the U.S. sample, and 2.2 per cent for the Britain sample.
