Environmental Groups Not Boycotting BP

Environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, point to the massive oil spill in the northern Gulf of Mexico as an example of what can go wrong. But, they have not mentioned any plans to boycott BP products.

That's not to say there isn't a grass-roots push to persuade consumers to buy their gasoline at competing service stations. A California man has created a Boycott BP page on Facebook that has more than 1,100 members. The page features news stories about the oil spill and efforts to contain it and subsequent discussions among the posters.

BP has come under sharp criticism because of its initial response to the oil rig explosion on April 20 and subsequent efforts to stem the flow of crude oil that is still gushing from a ruptured underwater pipe. Company officials say the flow may continue mostly unchecked for another week.

Beverly Griffiths, who chairs the executive committee of the Tampa Bay chapter of the Sierra Club, said the national environmental organization has not talked about boycotting BP in the wake of the spill. Locals are more concerned about whether the slick will reach West Central Florida.

"We are worried about how it will impact local fisheries and Tampa Bay," she said, "which we have spent millions of dollars restoring."

The Sierra Club is focusing on a renewed effort to ban offshore drilling altogether. The locals are trying to get a resolution before the Hillsborough County Commission this week to show its support of a Gulf drilling ban.

Nationally, the club is working to persuade President Obama to rescind an order lifting a moratorium on coastal drilling.

Greenpeace also used the spill to bolster its argument not to drill for oil near coastal areas. The organization this weekend issued maps of coastal areas near states that were recently opened up to drilling, showing the effect of a spill the size of the one in the Gulf right now.

Officials at the Greenpeace headquarters in Washington say they have not talked about a boycott of BP.

"I haven't heard anything about a boycott," said Greenpeace spokeswoman Jane Kochersperger this morning in an e-mail to TBO.com, "although we are working on many fronts to see that the situation is addressed and investigated properly."

Locally, BP stations don't seem to be feeling the impact. The BP Global Web site says that every year, more than 22 billion gallons of fuel are sold each year out of pumps at over 10,000 BP and other company-owned stations.

That comes to about 50 million gallons each day.

"Last night was a little slower," said Evelyn Fonseca, manager of the BP station on East Busch Boulevard, "but I can't say it is because of that," referring to the oil spill.

Other than that Sunday hiccup in the retail gas flow, she said, business appeared to be unchanged since the oil rig exploded, resulting in the massive spill.

The company is accepting full responsibility for the disaster that now is threatening the northern shores of the Gulf, including western parts of the Florida Panhandle.

In a statement last week, the company and its partners were shelling out $6 million a day for clean-up efforts. That figure likely will rise sharply when the oil slick hits land. Company officials say that's when the resultant legal claims will start.

Since the oil rig explosion, BP stock has dropped by about 13 percent.

The BP station on Gulf to Bay Boulevard in Clearwater always has a robust gasoline retail business, said store manager Eyssa Chada.

He said the oil spill in the Gulf so far has had no impact on his retail gas business.

"It is very busy," he said. "It has even picked up a little bit."

Motorists have changed their gasoline buying habits over the past several years, as prices have risen, said AAA Auto Club South spokeswoman Jessica Brady.

"When prices were less, you might have found people who were loyal to one brand or another," she said. "But now that prices are up, people are looking for the lowest price they can find."

They buy gas at the station nearest their home or where they work, she said, or whatever gas station happens to be nearby when their tank gets low.

As far as customers of BP stations, she said, "I'm sure if a person is a huge environmentalist, they are extremely upset with BP. Sure, you are going to have some people boycotting BP right now.

"But, overall," she said, "people still will be looking for best price they can find."

Brady said gasoline prices are expected to jump slightly this week, but that's not because of the Gulf oil spill.

"Retail gasoline prices should gain a few cents this week in response to the higher price of crude oil," she said. "And, as devastating as the oil spill is, it is not expected to influence short-term retail gasoline prices."

The national average price of unleaded regular gasoline this weekend was $2.89 a gallon, reflecting a 4-cent increase last week, Brady said. The average price for unleaded gas in Florida was the same, she said.