国际英语新闻：BP oil spill's impact likely to last longer, says observer

Commenting on the actions taken so far, Fox said: "As is the case in the aftermath of virtually every catastrophic incident, the response to the emergency will be second guessed." One area that Fox thinks will receive inquiry is the pace of response by both the government and the company.

"It seems likely that there will be prolonged attention given to the roles of both the corporate and government actors in the crisis," he said.

Talking about the lessons that China can learn from this incident, Fox said: "I believe that China can learn many helpful lessons from observing the experiences of other nations in the exploitation of offshore energy resources."

"China has the opportunity to consider the methods and techniques which it will permit to be used with the goal of minimizing to the extent possible events similar to the ongoing disaster. China would be wise to balance the very substantial benefits of offshore energy development with the corresponding risks to the environmental, marine, agricultural, leisure and other interests in the coastal region," he added.

Fox held various executive positions during his corporate career, including at one point having overall responsibility for environmental compliance of a multinational business.

On April 20, the explosion and sinking of a BP Plc oil rig and subsequent massive oil spill has claimed 11 lives and contaminated waters at the Gulf of Mexico with millions of gallons of oil. It has been nearly three weeks since the explosion and every day 5, 000 barrels of oil is still leaking into the gulf. Currently the oil has reached the shores of Louisiana, impacting the livelihoods of millions in the Gulf Coast states and threatening more.