That disaster literally put a stop to nuclear power in the U.S.," Rodman said at the summit. "I'm not sure Three Mile Island was as big as what has happened (in the Gulf)."
"What I worry about as an energy CEO is what effect this will have on energy policy," he said, noting it may lead people to look more seriously at electric cars, or complicate plans to pump carbon underground. "This BP thing has tentacles."
Along with the public at large, industry players were crossing their fingers on Thursday in hopes the latest attempt to plug the well would be successful.
Dave Roberts, head of worldwide upstream operations at Marathon Oil Corp (MRO.N), spoke frankly about everything that went wrong and the looming political fallout.
"These things just shouldn't happen," Roberts said, citing the industry's obligation to keep equipment working and its people safe. "On this particular incident, the industry has failed that obligation, and we're obviously very concerned about it."
Even energy lobbyists are changing their tack. Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association, readily conceded at a debate in San Francisco last week that what happened with the Horizon was a "game-changer."
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