BP and the Whiting Refinery: Beyond Petroleum (B) (pdf abstract)
Purchase the full report on Global Lens (Case study #1-428-736) – published 12/2009, 4 pages
By: Tom Lyon
Description: This mini-case is a follow-up to the BP and the Whiting Refinery Case (A), which describes the situation facing BP America’s President Bob Malone in late 2007, while attempting to expand the refining capacity at their Whiting, Indiana plant. They had followed all the rules set out by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and legally obtained a permit for expansion. Still, they were swiftly attacked by environmentalists from the surrounding area. The BP and the Whiting Refinery case parts (A) and (B) ask students to evaluate BP’s decision and its options for moving forward with the expansion.
Teaching Note: Available to Registered Educators. Please login to view it.
Teaching Points: This case can be used to illustrate
- The nature of the environmental regulatory process and how it affects business decisions
- The potential for tensions between different government entities in environmental matters
- The role of stakeholder groups in strategic management
- The difficulty of predicting outcomes in the regulatory arena and the need for strategies that create option value
- Pressures for going beyond compliance with regulations