In his opening statement before the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee this morning, BP CEO Tony Hayward expressed his remorse over the spill and the personal devastation he felt from the deaths caused by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon. He continued:
“I want to speak directly to the people who live and work in the Gulf region. I know that this incident has had a profound impact on your lives and caused great turmoil and I deeply regret that. I also deeply regret the impact the spill has had on the environment, the wildlife, and the ecosystem of the gulf.”
Hayward then went on to detail the efforts BP is taking to stop the leak and clean up the oil. So all in all, it was pretty much his commercial, delivered live and in person. However, before Hayward could get into his statement, he had to overcome a series of interruptions first, by an “oil”-covered protester who was dragged out of the room by police, and then by Committee Chairman Bart Stupak, who requested that Hayward speak into the microphone. This second interruption elicited a brief look of amusement on the face of Hayward, who probably wondered whether he would ever be allowed to finish a sentence today.
Hayward then went on to detail the efforts BP is taking to stop the leak and clean up the oil. So all in all, it was pretty much his commercial, delivered live and in person. However, before Hayward could get into his statement, he had to overcome a series of interruptions first, by an “oil”-covered protester who was dragged out of the room by police, and then by Committee Chairman Bart Stupak, who requested that Hayward speak into the microphone. This second interruption elicited a brief look of amusement on the face of Hayward, who probably wondered whether he would ever be allowed to finish a sentence today.
