The BP oil spill, also known as the deep-water horizon oil spill is one of the worst oil spills in U.S History. On April 20th, 2010, a fire broke out on the platform resulting in an explosion that claimed the lives of eleven workers as well as severely injuring seventeen. Also because of the explosion, an estimated 3.19 million gallons of crude oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico wreaking havoc on the ecological system as well as the human population that inhabited those affected areas along the coastline. Not only did the deep-water horizon oil spill prove to be detrimental in retrospect to the human and wild life communities, the oil spill also had a negative impact economically as well. According to an article written by David Butler and Edward Sayre at the University of Southern Mississippi, from May-August of 2010 they estimated revenue losses to be about 119,413,000 which is about a 5% decrease from the same time in 2009. Also, according to the article this estimate includes tourism as well as hotels and restaurants in those areas. This paper is intended to analyze the impact of the deep horizon oil spill on the economy. The BP oil spill single handedly ruined several businesses along the coastline. Popular beaches were forced to close following the disaster, which in turned caused tourism to decrease drastically. This took its toll on business owners that were dependent on tourism traffic to boost their business profits. According to an article posted on Boem.Gov in
The BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill affected many small and large businesses in the coastal Gulf State regions, either directly or indirectly . The following industries showed a drop in activity level:
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.
On April 20th 2010 an explosion on an oil ridge of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, was the cause of the greatest environmental disaster in history of the United States. This explosion took the lives of eleven men who were working on the ridge, and also ruptured an oil line, which dumped more than 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This oil spill significantly affected the wildlife of the gulf coast, killing hundreds of fishes, birds, and reptile that call the gulf coast home. The spill also affected global supply chain for major industries.
How did the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 affect our economy and environment, and what does the future hold, with regard to the environment, oil drilling, and sustainability?
Loss of market confidence in the fishing industry can lead to price reductions or rebuff of seafood products by commercial buyers and consumers. When it goes viral and acquires media coverage and attention it looks down poorly on the marketability of seafood. Oil contamination will forcibly close some fishing grounds. Tourism in these areas will also lessen as a consequence, out of all threaten states Florida has the most to lose. 80 million visitors a year and generating $60 billion in spending, tourism is its most prevalent industry based on studies. According to the article Factbox: Gulf oil spill impacts fisheries, wildlife, tourism, officials say, “even the mere threat of oil pollution from the spill is enough to make a significant "dent" in the tourism industries of Florida and other Gulf states”. Expanding the industry will only surge the process and rate at which these businesses lose
Eleven people died and seventeen were injured (Friedman 13). The people died and got hurt when it exploded (Friedman 13). An examination of primary and secondary sources will reveal the historical significance of this event.
IMPACT OF THE DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO ON THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT
With the huge impact of the oil spill on marine life and coastal regions, fishing and tourism industries of the places affected in the Gulf Coast severely declined. In the fishing industry, the incident led to an approximate $2.5 billion loss, while tourist industries experienced a loss of a predicted $23 billion (Jarvis, 2010). In addition, the moratorium placed on deep water drilling left 58,000 workers unemployed (ibid).
The effect of oil spill is usually calculated in terms of damage on the environment, aftermath on marine species, and effect on the tourism and fishery industries. The impact on human health is less known relatively. The financial costs associated with oil spills are also a factor. Arguably, it is a less serious consequence of an Oil Spill, however the financial costs have the potential to bankrupt an organization. BP suffered major financial loss as a result of the Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. They have paid up to $1.5 billion in an effort to settle various claims and compensation. (BP, n.d)
BP was met with severe criticism for the ecological impacts of the oil spill, as the environment of Gulf of Mexico was completely damaged from the spill. The spill did not only bring about pollution to the marine wildlife but it also destroyed Gulf’s fishing and tourism industries. Like the effects on the physical environment, the social and economic environments were also affected. The waters of the Gulf of Mexico were closed due to pollution from the oil spill. As a result, recreational and commercial fishing were banned. The state of Louisiana closest to the oil well was greatly affected by the incident but the effects were as far reaching as the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. Since fish, oysters and shrimps form an important
The first effect of the oil spill is many losses from pollution caused by the BP Oil Spill. Such as all the animals that were endangered by the oil. Their environment was being intruded by the 4.9 barrels of oil that was
The article studied the effects of the oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig operated by British Petroleum in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010. The spill released 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The spill impacted hundreds of miles of marine ecosystem along the Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida coastlines. (Cisneros-Montemayor, Sumaila, Dyck, Huang, Jacquet, Kleisner, & et al, 2012, p.499) The impacts on the marine ecosystem trickled down to impact economic functions of commercial fishing, mariculture, tourism, energy markets, and recreation. (Cisneros-Montemayor, Sumaila, Dyck, Huang, Jacquet, Kleisner, & et al, 2012, p.500) Considering the geographical located of the oil spill, the tropical system of the Gulf of Mexico played a key role during the oil spill. Tropical systems make a great habitat for mangroves and marshes, but these types of plants tend to suck up the oil and can retain it for long periods of time. (Cisneros-Montemayor, Sumaila, Dyck, Huang, Jacquet, Kleisner, & et al, 2012, p.501)
The oil spill undermines the reputation and market position of British Petroleum, thus its stock prices decline dramatically. Even though BP took measures for resolving these problems, its way was not beneficial enough and therefore, it still requires more advantageous resolutions.
Deepwater Horizon oil Spill: BP’s drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico had an explosion in April 2010, causing the “largest oil spill catastrophe in the petroleum industry history”. It caused the death of 11 men and injury to several others. “More than 150,000 barrels of crude oil gushed into the sea, every day, for almost 5 months and up to 68,000 square miles of the Gulf 's surface were covered” (1).
In 2010 on April 20th the Gulf of Mexico had seen the worst environmental disaster the world had ever seen. It started as an explosion on a BP oil rig that took the lives of 11 people and injuring 17 while leaking "...at least 3 million barrels of oil..." (Bryant & Hunter, 2010, para. 2 This was not the first accident that has happened to BP but, certainly the most costly. In 2005 there was an explosion at a refinery in Texas that killed 15 and injured over 180 people (Bryant & Hunter, 2010). They ended up paying over "...2 billion in damages and lawsuits" (Bryant & Hunter, 2010, para. 5). With the 2005 incident, BP had cut costs in their operating budget and also lowered the safety standards of the company (Bryant & Hunter, 2010). There