The Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater offshore oil drill. On April 20th 2010, an explosion happened on the rig caused by a blowout. A blowout is an uncontrolled release of crude oil and natural gas. The resulting fire could not be extinguished. On April 22nd, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon sank. The rig left the well gushing at the seabed and caused the largest oil spill in the U.S. waters. The explosion caused the Deepwater rig to burn and sink. This resulted in a massive offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the world, and the largest environmental disaster in the U.S. history. The Deepwater Horizon explosion made a negative impact in people’s personal lives, people’s work lives and wildlife. To begin, the oil rig explosion impacted many individuals lives, especially the families of the eleven missing crewmembers. Once the rig sank, two days following the explosion, the eleven missing were assumed dead. All were males and most had children and wives. None of the men worked for BP, British Petroleum. Two were employed by M-I Swaco, a division of oil …show more content…
over 8,000 animals(birds, mammals, turtles) were reported dead just 6 months after the spill, including many that were already on the endangered list. In the months following the Gulf oil disaster, wildlife managers, rescue crews, scientists and researchers saw many impacts of the oil impacting wildlife. Oil coated birds’ feathers caused birds to lose their buoyancy and their ability to regulate body temperature. Mammals could have ingested oil, which can cause ulcers and internal bleeding. Sea turtles were covered in oil as well. Nearly half the dolphins studied were very ill. 17% of the dolphins were not expected to survive. Since the spill, each year roughly 500 sea turtles are found stranded. The Gulf oil disaster hit at the peak breeding season for many species of fish and
This essay will discuss the long lasting effects on the economy from the explosion on the DeepWater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The events that took place on April 20, 2010 would go down in history as the worst deep sea oil spill in history. British Petroleum would suffer its greatest lost to date when one of its drilling rigs the Deepwater Horizon would blow up in the Gulf of Mexico (Crandall, Parnell & Spillan, 2014). In the days and weeks following the explosion there were signs of a problem that were overlooked after test came back inconclusive on one of the pressure systems.
One of the most endangered species of the sea were also affected by the oil spills of the gulf, sea turtles. Turtles covered in oil were at risk of breathing the toxins of the oil, potentially damaging their respiratory system. Texas residents report that dead sea turtles continue to wash up. Although it is estimated that about 6,000 sea turtles have been harmed by the oil spill, only 1,146 have been officially collected.
The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that started it all killed 11 people and injured 17. On April 20, 2010, a
Deepwater horizon oil spill, also known as a BP oil spill. The spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. On April 20, 2010 “An oil well in the Gulf of Mexico failed, causing what has been called the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history and taking the
The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill occurred on April 20, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. This oil spill was the largest spill in history in front of the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989. This oil spill released about 4.9 million barrels of oil into the ocean. This spill not only wreck havoc on the marine life but also the economic players that depended on ocean such as fisherman, tourism, and offshore drilling located along the gulf coast. Along will the spill the oil rig which was named Deepwater Horizon also went up in flames. This proved that the issue went far beyond just an oil rig that blew a line. Since this oil spill had drastic impacts all along the coast, BP which was the most liable for this incident faced criminal charges based on what happened. BP which knew the risks of deep ocean drilling failed to take the necessary safety procedures to reduce the risks of such incident occurring, thus was the reasoning behind placing most of the fault on them and not the other companies. The lack of regulatory oversight led to the issues and cost-cutting procedures opened the rig up to possible malfunctions like the one that occurred. During the spill into the gulf, BP sealed the well with cement which seemed to stop a majority of the oil from escaping the well. BP also recognized that the well was “dead” which was proven wrong when scientists still could conclude was leaking minor amounts of oil into the ocean. This spill not only proved to be harmful to the environment but also
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon, claimed by Transocean and contracted to BP, encountered a sad and yet powerful blast,ending with the lives of eleven specialists. It additionally uncapped an ocean depths gusher that streamed for 87 days. An expected 210 million gallons of oil hurried into the Atlantic waters, destroying marine natural life and conveying the tourism and fish enterprises
The BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill tells the tragic story of what happened on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig back in April 2010. The rig, leased from another vendor, was digging a well on the Macondo slope in the Gulf when it exploded and fatally killed eleven employees and injured seventeen others (Crandall, Parnell, & Spillan, 2014). Not to mention, five million barrels of oil spilled into the sea causing an environmental issue that lasted more than ninety days.
They were the ones who dropped the oil into the ocean when they were out on the ocean. Even though other companies were working on the rig, BP was in charge of the boat that caused the spill.
On April 20, 2010, BP-operated Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, claiming the lives of eleven people and injuring 17 others. The fire continued for
Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform had the explosion and sink into the ocean on April 22, 2010. This is one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history. The initial oilrig explosion killed 11 people and injured 17 others1.In this accident, over 4.9 million barrels1 of crude oil, which is 205.8 million gallons of oil been released into the Gulf of Mexico1. The oil has made a serious damage to the ocean, surrounding lands, marshes and beaches. It will also have a long-term effect on the nearby creatures including human beings. After that, about 1.84 million1 of dispersant was used in this accident. Initially, the dispersant Corexit 9527 was used, and when existing stocks of that formulation were exhausted, Corexit 9500 was used.
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, located in the Gulf of Mexico exploded killing 11 workers and injuring 17. The oil rig sank a day-and-a-half later. The spill was referred to as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, BP oil spill, Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and BP oil disaster. It was first said that little oil had actually leaked into the ocean but a little over a month later the estimate was 12,000-19,000 barrels of crude oil being leaked per day. Many attempts were made to stop the leak but all failed until they capped the leak on July 15, 2010, and on September 19 the federal government declared the well “effectively dead.” In the three months that it took to finally put a stop the leak, 4.9 million barrels of oil were
When we look at the effect of the deepwater oil spill on other stakeholders, we see that they were impacted more negatively. There were 11 people killed and 17 were injured. Although the number of people in this group is small, losses of life and health weigh heavily on the scale as we assess the consequences of BP’s decision to forego the back-up switch.
The BP Oil Spill An Introductory Background - One of the most controversial ecological disasters in recent history focused on multinational British Petroleum and their Gulf of Mexico Operations. The Deepwater Oil Disaster began on April 20, 2010 with an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon Oil platform, killing 11, injuring 17. It was not until July 15th, however, that the leak was stopped by capping the wellhead, after releasing almost 5 million barrels (206 million gallons) of crude oil, or 53,000 barrels per day into the Gulf of Mexico. It was not until September 19th that the relief well process was complete and the U.S. Government, EPA, and Coast Guard agencies declared the well breach effectively stopped (Cavnar, 2010).
On April 20, the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico led to the largest accidental release of oil into marine waters in history. As a result, a huge loss of money and life was caused and affected serious environmental damage to wild animals and water pollution. BP was accused of their irresponsibility that it took 87 days before the well was closed and sealed. BP’s shares
Over 8000 animals were reported dead 6 months after the spill, including many that were on the endangered species list (7). Subsequently, seafood prices increased affecting restaurants and supermarkets. People abstained from going to beaches covered in oil, water sports and other aquatic attractions which meant that all organisations involved in tourism such as hotels, tour operators, restaurants and boat rental companies were affected (1). Furthermore, the method of cleaning up the oil by “in-situ burning” (burning oil in a contained area on the surface of the water), had adverse effects on the environment as the burning off of the oil led to mutations and increased mortality due to pollution.