Special Report: Fast, Slick Proactive Response Helps British Petroleum Avoid Blackened Image

March 5, 1990

A mile-and-a-half off the pristine sands of Huntington Beach, California, an oil tanker leased to BP America, Inc., was maneuvering to deliver 560,000 barrels of Alaska crude to Golden West Refining Co. when a starboard tank ruptured.

As 394,000 gallons of oil floated toward shore, oil industry officials and Californians envisioned another Exxon-like spill debacle. The scale this time, however, was smaller; 1.6 million barrels, equal to 11 million gallons, fouled Alaska's waters and shores. But the PR response was bigger and better. BP America, unlike Exxon, was prepared for a PR crisis.

Ready to Act

The U.S. subsidiary of London-based British Petroleum had designed and implemented a company-wide crisis management plan 3 months before the Exxon spill. The crisis strategy, written and bound, dictated that every BP functional unit, e.g. industrial hygiene, human resources, accounting, be able to deploy specialists quickly.

BP had conducted crisis drills reacting to mock scenarios. BP's corporate goal was to have a response team in the air within 2 hours of any crisis, then deploy specialists in waves. Chuck Webster, and 8-year PR/PA vet stationed at BP America's Cleveland HQ, was named crisis manager last year. Webster has oil company experience and was a reporter/educational/broadcaster for Associated Press, ABC and NBC radio.

BP has no West Coast PA office but its port captain, Tom Tomasovic, based in Long Beach, had been media-trained and was facing cameras and reporters "within hours" of the 4:30 p.m. spill on February 7. Webster, picking up summer camp info for his daughter, was paged by BP's manager of marine operations 30 minutes after the rupture. Within 2 hours, Webster and Keith Cameron, another PA staffer, plus two BP marine experts, were on a plane from Cleveland, heading west.

BP's U.S. president, John McDonald, was notified in Sacramento, where he was giving a speech. The owner of the vessel was alerted and PBN, a San Francisco PR firm, was called in. PBN had worked with BP on state government problems in the past. All converged on the Long Beach Marriott Hotel at 2:30 a.m. for strategy meeting, then went straight to the U.S. Coast Guard office, en masse.

A 3:55 a.m., a "Today Show" crew from NBC in Burbank wanted to go live for a 7 a.m. EST opener. Webster asked for a half hour more time for a Coast Guard briefing; McDonald went on the air at 4:31 a.m. PST, opening the show's second half hour. Why "Today"? The show was first on the scene with a request, says Webster. ABC's "Good Morning, America" and "CBS Morning News" never asked. If they had, they would have received this response from Webster: "Our goal is to service everyone."

Meeting the Press

At 10 a.m. the day after the spill, BP held a full press briefing. At no time, however, did it refuse calls or questions. "In a crisis situation, you've got perhaps 24 hours to establish yourself as a credible information source," says Webster. "Your ability to do that will have a major impact on public perception of your response. My personal view is that if you fail to establish a perception of professionalism within the first 24 hours, it's nearly impossible to establish it later."

BP's entire crisis PR strategy was "proactive." Webster says state and federal officials were "encouraged to hold their briefings on the beaches." BP did the same. No stuffy, sterile offices were used for press locales.

But while BP was quick to respond, it was sensitive to the spotlight and didn't grab it. At the 10 a.m. news conference, facing 75 reporters and 20 cameras, the Coast Guard opened with a short statement and a handout and then BP took questions. By noon that day, BP - aided by its Sacramento PA staffer Patrick Presley and PBN execs - had made contact with all government officials, including California.