Of this stretch, about 200 miles were heavily oiled – meaning that the oil covering them was more than three-foot wide and covered 50% distribution. The spill, the largest of its type in history, could be seen from space. Approximately 90% of the volume of the Gulf of Mexico is contained in water deeper than 200 m, a region where the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) blowout had more impact on ecosystems than any previous oil spill. Factors such as oil-biodegradation, ocean currents and response measures (dispersants, burning) reduced coastal o … Oil released from the Deepwater Horizon well stains the Gulf of Mexico, on 10 June 2010. Efforts in May to place a containment dome over the largest leak in the broken riser were thwarted by the buoyant action of gas hydrates—gas molecules in an ice matrix—formed by the reaction of natural gas and cold water. However, it was verified in June that the plumes were in fact from the Deepwater spill. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill constituted an ecosystem-level injury in the northern Gulf of Mexico. To clean oil from the open water, 1.8 million gallons of dispersants—substances that emulsified the oil, thus allowing for easier metabolism by bacteria—were pumped directly into the leak and applied aerially to the slick. Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The Deepwater Horizon rig disaster caused the deaths of 11 crew and a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is a grave reminder that oil spills can occur despite the many safeguards and improvements that have been put into place. The defective BOP and the capping stack were removed in early September and replaced by a functioning BOP. By Nanciann Regalado, DOI Deepwater Horizon Outreach and Public Affairs Coordinator June 1, 2016. 5 Lingering Questions from the BP Oil Spill, 5 Wild Technologies Being Used Now to Clean Up the BP Oil Spill, How To Pick The Right Motor Oil For Your Car. 1. environmental disaster, Gulf of Mexico [2010]. Before it was capped three months later, approximately 134 million gallons of oil had spilled into the Gulf, the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. January 11, 2011 - The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling releases their full report stating that the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon … We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The 3.19 million barrels found by the courts to have leaked during the spill is equal to over 130 million gallons. Though similar to the failed top kill, mud could be injected at much lower pressures during the static kill because of the stabilizing influence of the capping stack. Located 41 miles off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf a Mexico, the oil rig “”Deepwater Horizon”” was owned by Transocean, who was under contract with BP (British Petroleum) for the initial drilling of oil wells. ?s worst environmental disasters. That's about one-fourth of daily consumption in the United States. On September 17 the bottom kill maneuver was successfully executed through the first relief well. Learn about the experimental use of entangled wire as an obstruction to mitigate the effects of blowout preventer failure in an oil well. The Deepwater Horizon rig, owned and operated by offshore-oil-drilling company Transocean and leased by oil company BP, was situated in the Macondo oil prospect in the Mississippi Canyon, a valley in the continental shelf. This entailed pumping cement through a channel—known as a relief well—that paralleled and eventually intersected the original well. Oil-eating microbes have consumed a considerable portion of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig spilled around 4.9 million barrels of oil after a methane explosion on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico — the largest marine oil spill in history. In the process of reaching a settlement with BP, the largest natural-resource damage assessment ever was undertaken. It continued for three months after the explosion until July of that year. C-IMAGE researchers developed the first comprehensive baseline of oil contamination in the Gulf’s fishes and sediments, including all waters off the US, Mexico and Cuba. Although BP attempted to activate the rig’s blowout preventer (BOP), a fail-safe mechanism designed to close the channel through which oil was drawn, the device malfunctioned. Of the 126 workers at the site that day, 11 were killed by the blast. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Located more than 5,000 feet below the water's surface, the well leaked for 87 days until it was capped, resulting in over 3 million barrels of oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico. The oil well over which it was positioned was located on the seabed 4,993 feet (1,522 metres) below the surface and extended approximately 18,000 feet (5,486 metres) into the rock. This April, NOAA is commemorating 10 years since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, considered the largest U.S. offshore oil spill in history, resulting in the tragic loss of human and marine life. This differs from natural dispersion because instead of breaking down into small droplets, the oil breaks apart molecularly and dissolves into the water. In its first month, BP spilled 30 million gallons of oil … Read more. On July 8, 47,000 people had been deployed. The explosion, which killed 11 men, caused the rig to sink and started a catastrophic oil leak from the well. After the accident on the Deepwater Horizon platform seven years ago in the Gulf of Mexico, an estimated 210 million gallons of oil leaked at a depth of about 1,500 meters for 87 days. Your Neighbor's Solar Panels Are Saving You Money, The Eternal Quest for Aether, Which Never Existed. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Is Tesla Building a Giant Battery for Power Grids? The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was discovered on the afternoon of 22 April 2010 when a large oil slick began to spread at the former rig site. In the United States the Deepwater Horizon investigation included several investigations and commissions, including reports by the USCG National Incident Commander, Admiral Thad Allen, the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), National Academy of Engineering, National Research Council, Government Accountability Office, National Oil Spill Commission, and Chemical Safet… In a detailed assessment of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, researchers led by a team from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have determined that the … Getty Images. Solving the critical environmental problems of global warming, water scarcity, pollution, and biodiversity loss are perhaps the greatest challenges of the 21st century. As of 2020, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is still considered the worst oil spill in the history of the United States. British Petroleum’s Deepwater… in English from Illinois State University in 2005. Updates? As the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill released 134 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over a period of 87 days, fouling 1,300 miles of shoreline along five states. Map depicting the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, caused by the explosion of an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana on April 20, 2010. This article is part of series called Deepwater Horizon: a Decade On. This is referred to as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, as well as the BP oil spill. Reflecting on the Deepwater Horizon disaster, five years later. One … A new study argues satellite imagery was unable to detect the full extent of toxic oil. This article is more than 8 years old. BP has spent more than $14 billion on cleanup activities and 70 million personnel hours in response to the catastrophic oil spill that occurred on April 20th, 2010, after an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig killed 11 workers and created a fireball able to be seen 35 miles away. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill constituted an ecosystem-level injury in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Much oil spread at 1100-1300m depth, contaminating and affecting deepwater habitats. (PhysOrg.com) -- In a detailed assessment of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, researchers led by a team from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) … Two days later it sank. On April 20, 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon Macondo oil well drilling platform tragically killed 11 workers, and started the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history, releasing millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. As the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill released 134 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over a period of 87 days, fouling 1,300 miles of shoreline along five states. This included about 80 … The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Was a Cover-Up, Not a Cleanup. Deepwater Horizon oil spill killed as many as 102,000 birds across 93 species. 51.5 million: Gallons of oil evaporated or dissolved. Though fitted loosely over the BOP and allowing some oil to escape, the cap enabled BP to siphon approximately 15,000 barrels of oil per day to a tanker. The explosion, which killed 11 men, caused the rig to sink and started a catastrophic oil leak from the well. We are dedicating this months’ Soils Matter blogs to the topic of the wetlands and soils, how scientists helped determine and solve some related issues – and where the wetlands are in their recovery. So began an 87-day oil spill that spewed 3.19 million barrels, or … Factors such as oil-biodegradation, ocean currents and response measures (dispersants, burning) reduced coastal oiling. 6.2 million: Gallons of oil skimmed off the Gulf by the more than 830 skimming vessels used in the response, 35 million: Gallons directly recovered from the wellhead into ships through the riser pipe and top-hat systems, 11.4 million: Gallons of oil has been removed by a series of 411 controlled burns, 53.5 million: Gallons of oil still remaining in the water or washed ashore. The second had been intended to serve as a backup and was not completed. Only about 800,000 barrels had been captured. When an attempt to employ a “top kill,” whereby drilling mud was pumped into the well to stanch the flow of oil, also failed, BP in early June turned to an apparatus called the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) cap. In January 2015, after years of scientific and legal analysis, the U.S. District Court in New Orleans determined that BP was responsible for 3.19 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon. Construction of two such wells had begun in May. It’s our job to provide the best available science that guides emergency response decisions. Claims by several research groups that subsurface plumes of dispersed hydrocarbons had been detected in May were initially dismissed by BP and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). On the night of April 20 a surge of natural gas blasted through a concrete core recently installed by contractor Halliburton in order to seal the well for later use. Two days later, following a series of pressure tests, it was announced that the well was completely sealed. Over the course of 87 days, the damaged Macondo wellhead, a part of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, located around 5,000 feet beneath the ocean's surface, leaked an estimated 3.19 million barrels (over 130 million gallons) of oil into the Gulf of Mexico—making the spill … By MARYALICE PARKS, MATT GUTMAN and … 4 million barrels of oil flowed from the damaged Macondo well over an 87-day period, before it was finally capped on July 15, 2010. Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also called Gulf of Mexico oil spill, largest marine oil spill in history, caused by an April 20, 2010, explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig—located in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 41 miles (66 km) off the coast of Louisiana—and its subsequent sinking on April 22. Further reading. In the process of reaching a settlement with BP, the largest natural-resource damage assessment ever was undertaken. The panel said that about 4.9 million barrels of oil have come out of the well, with about 800,000 barrels, or 17 percent, captured by BP’s containment efforts. Spencer Platt/Getty Images. Forensic analysis of the BOP completed the following year determined that a set of massive blades known as blind shear rams—designed to slice through the pipe carrying oil—had malfunctioned because the pipe had bent under the pressure of the rising gas and oil. With the damaged riser shorn from the LMRP—the top segment of the BOP—the cap was lowered into place. NOAA was on the scene from the earliest moments of the crisis, bringing more than 25 years of experience protecting and restoring our coasts from oil spills. Did Scientists Stumble Upon a New Kind of Physics? This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. The Center for Biological Diversity combed government figures, news reports and scientific articles to assess this oil spill’s likely effects. Corrections? See an interactive map of how much oil spilled at “Tracking the Oil Spill in the Gulf” by the New York Times. Oil was already present in the Gulf from past spills and natural seeps, but the Deepwater Horizon was the largest accidental spill in the ocean anywhere in the world. Could a Nuclear Reactor Last for Centuries? In the BP Oil Spill, more than 200 million gallons of crude oil was pumped into the Gulf of Mexico for a total of 87 days, making it the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. 4.9 million: Barrels of oil (205.8 million gallons) leaked from the Deepwater Horizon well, about half the amount of crude oil the U.S. imports per day NOAA responds to more than 150 oil spills every year. The Fate of Clean Hydrogen Rests in This Goop, Jeff Bezos Backing Ancient Kind of Nuclear Fusion, 5 Nuclear Reactors That Will Shape Energy's Future, Tiny Nuclear Reactors Can Save American Energy. Debris and oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig after it sank on April 22, 2010. As much as 20 percent of the oil spilled may have sunk to the bottom of the ocean, damaging deep-sea ecosystems. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in pictures, https://www.britannica.com/event/Deepwater-Horizon-oil-spill, Smithsonian Ocean Portal - Gulf Oil Spill, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution - Oil in the Ocean - Deepwater Horizon, NOAA - Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program - Deepwater Horizon, Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010 - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Deepwater Horizon oil spill: debris and oil, Observe fireboat responding to crews battling the fire during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010, See how wire entanglement inside a well bore mitigates the effects of blowout preventer failure in an oil well, Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010: path of the oil, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, An explosion that capsized the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, 11 workers killed and 17 injured by the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, About 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of the U.S. Gulf Coast covered in oil, Massive harm done to wildlife in and around the Gulf of Mexico, including the deaths of an estimated 800,000 birds and 65,000 turtles, Payment by oil company BP of $65 billion in compensation to people impacted by the spill, Release of an estimated 134 million to 206 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. From April 20, 2010 to July 15, 2010, an estimated 134 million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. Up to 5 percent of the oil from the spill is now resting on the ocean floor, a new study finds. Fireboat response crews battling the blazing remnants of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, April 21, 2010. Deepwater Horizon oil spill - Deepwater Horizon oil spill - Cleanup efforts: The petroleum that had leaked from the well before it was sealed formed a slick extending over more than 57,500 square miles (149,000 square km) of the Gulf of Mexico. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is also called the BP oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, or the Macondo blowout. On April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 people. on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, Stopping the Spill: The Five-Month Effort to Kill the Macondo Well, Staff Working Paper, released November 22, 2010). Human action has triggered a vast cascade of environmental problems that now threaten the continued ability of both natural and human systems to flourish. The BP oil spill began when the Deepwater Horizon rig suffered an explosion on April 20, 2010. April 2020, is the 10th anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Bacteria that had adapted to consuming naturally occurring gas and oil seeping from the seabed were thought to have consumed a portion of it. (A 2014 report by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board claimed that the blind shear rams had activated sooner than previously thought and may have actually punctured the pipe.). Deepwater Horizon disaster had much worse impact than believed, study finds. A new joint colloquium report from the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM), the American Geophysical Union (AGU), and the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) titled “Microbial Genomics of the Global Ocean System reports on science findings in the 10 years since the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, which dumped 4.9 million barrels of oil and 250,000 metric tons of natural gas … 9 For example, if the early flow rates had indicated a greater volume of oil was not reaching the ocean surface, might On August 3 BP conducted a “static kill,” a procedure in which drilling mud was pumped into the well through the BOP. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred more than six years ago, but for many of us the memories of the spill are still fresh in our minds. Located more than 5,000 feet below the water's surface, the well leaked for 87 days until it was capped, resulting in over 3 million barrels of oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico. “On April 20, 2010, a fiery explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil … The success of these procedures cleared the way for a “bottom kill,” considered to be the most likely means of permanently sealing the leak. Oil Spill | Gulf of Mexico | April 2010 What Happened? Once released by the fracture of the core, the natural gas traveled up the Deepwater rig’s riser to the platform, where it ignited, killing 11 workers and injuring 17. [1] 16,000 total miles of coastline have been affected, including the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig spilled around 4.9 million barrels of oil after a methane explosion on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico — the largest marine oil spill in history. The addition of an ancillary collection system comprising several devices, also tapped into the BOP, increased the collection rate to approximately 25,000 barrels of oil a day. Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. In total, over 4.9 million barrels were released with over 53,000 barrels released on average daily. On July 15, 2010, the wellhead was finally capped as they finally staunched the wound. Globs of oil float on the water's surface following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. 10.4 million: Feet of sorbent boon (8.7 million) and containment boom (2.7 million) currently deployed to contain the oil, 1.8 million: Gallons of both surface and subsea dispersant used by Unified Incident Command. Much of the oil released from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead traveled up through the water column, where some of it dissolved, impacting organisms living there. The BP Oil Spill was the worst offshore oil spill in United States history. After the accident on the Deepwater Horizon platform seven years ago in the Gulf of Mexico, an estimated 210 million gallons of oil leaked at a depth of about 1,500 meters … Today, more than 50 percent of Gulf oil production comes from ultra-deep wells drilled in 4,500 feet or more of water, compared with about 4,000 feet for Deepwater Horizon. The volume of oil escaping the damaged well—originally estimated by BP to be about 1,000 barrels per day—was thought by U.S. government officials to have peaked at more than 60,000 barrels per day. 28,900: Total number of personnel currently deployed in response to the spill. The rig capsized and sank on the morning of April 22, rupturing the riser, through which drilling mud had been injected in order to counteract the upward pressure of oil and natural gas. Richard Pallardy received a B.A. Getty Images. It was an oil spill in the' Gulf of Mexico, the largest marine oil spill in history. In January 2015, after years of scientific and legal analysis, the U.S. District Court in New Orleans determined that BP was responsible for 3.19 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon. Deepwater trial: US lawyers say BP ignored warnings on 'well from hell' This article is more than 8 years old. The BP oil spill is the largest accidental release of oil into marine waters, according to flow estimates announced on Aug. 2 by a federal panel of scientists, called the Flow Rate Technical Group. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). That is equivalent to the volume of over 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Booms to corral portions of the slick were deployed, and the contained oil … U.S. Navy Destroyers Encountered Mysterious Drones, PM Meets the Apache: The Helo That Fights Back. BP has spent more than $14 billion on cleanup activities and 70 million personnel hours in response to the catastrophic oil spill that occurred on April 20th, 2010, after an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig killed 11 workers and created a fireball able to be seen 35 miles away. 4.9 million The total barrels of crude oil released before the leak was capped on 15 July. 95.6 million: Potential gallons of gasoline leaked from the wellhead (approximately 19.5 gallons of gas can be derived from one barrel of oil). National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, Report to the US President, January 2011, https://bit.ly/3aSHtyy. Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Valdez tanker spill, which dumped 11 million gallons of crude into Alaskaâ? As of 2020, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is still considered the worst oil spill in the history of the United States. As days stretched into weeks, then weeks into months, BP's Deepwater Horizon wellhead continued to spew millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. On April 20, 2010, the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, operating in the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded and sank resulting in the death of 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon and the largest spill of oil in the history of marine oil drilling operations. He was a research editor with Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. from 2008 to 2016 and worked on Britannica Blog from 2010... Fireboat response crews attempting to extinguish the blaze aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, April 21, 2010. Due to its unprecedented scope, the damage assessment caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been a challenge. As much as 20 percent of the oil spilled may have sunk to the bottom of the ocean, damaging deep-sea ecosystems. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is one of the largest oil spills in history. 4.9 million: Barrels of oil (205.8 million gallons) leaked from the Deepwater Horizon well, about half the amount of crude oil the U.S. imports per day, 19: Times more oil leaked from Deepwater Horizon than spilled from the Exxon Valdez in 1989 (10.8 million gallons), 62,000: Barrels leaking per day when the wellhead first broke, roughly the amount of oil consumed in Delaware each day, 53,000: Barrels leaking per day when the well was capped on July 15, roughly the amount of oil consumed in Rhode Island each day, 397.7 million: Dollars' worth of the oil spilled at current market prices ($81.17 per barrel), 665: Miles of coastline contaminated by oil, 16.5 million: Gallons of oil chemically dispersed by National Incident Command, 32.9 million: Gallons of oil naturally dispersed, which means it has broken into droplets smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Omissions? Much of the oil released from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead traveled up through the water column, where some of it dissolved, impacting organisms living there. Even animals that don’t live in or on the water but depend on it for food, such as diving birds, were also injured by the contamination. The Deepwater Horizon incident was the largest marine oil spill in history. Itâ? By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. April 21, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon burns in the Gulf of Mexico. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io. April 21, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon burns in the Gulf of Mexico. 2. Scientists noted that the prevailing paths of the Gulf of Mexico's Loop Current and a detached eddy located to the west kept much of the oil, which covered a sizable part of the gulf some three months after the accident, from reaching shore. 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