• Wall Street Journal, Brand Republic, Tuesday, October 26, 2010 11:04 AM

New BP CEO Bob Dudley went on the offensive yesterday, accusing both the media and some members of the oil industry of a "rush to judgment" and a "protracted media and political firestorm" that only made matters worse, James Herron reports with contributions from Guy Chazan and Tapan Panchal. Dudley also said BP will continue to operate in the U.S. and will keep drilling in deep water in the Gulf of Mexico.

Other oil companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico -- such as ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron - have criticized BP. Shell CEO Peter Voser, for example, said his company "would have drilled the well in a different way and had more options to prevent an accident." Dudley maintained that "over 5,000 wells had been drilled in over 1,000 feet of water with no serious incident," before "what was seen by us and the entire industry as a very low-probability event" occurred.

"BP is continuing to point the finger at everyone but themselves," responded Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass). "Since this disaster began, BP has stood for 'Blame Passed.'"

Brand Republic, meanwhile, reports that Happiness Brussels, a Belgian agency, has commissioned British graphic artist Anthony Burrill to create a series of hand-printed posters using crude oil that was washed up on the beaches of Louisiana and collected by two of its creatives. At the top are the words "Oil & Water" printed in a golden oil color; oil-based paint below is used to shape the words "Do Not Mix." The agency will sell the 200 posters online and donate the profits to the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana.

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