Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill (20 April 2010)
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
An explosion on April 20, 2010, aboard the Deepwater Horizon, a drilling rig working on a well for the oil company BP one mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, led to the largest accidental oil spill in history.
After a series of failed efforts to plug a gushing leak, BP said in July 2010 that it had capped what it had named the Macondo well, marking the first time in 86 days that oil was not gushing into the gulf. Nearly five months after it blew out of control, the federal government finally declared the well dead in September, after pressure tests confirmed that cement pumped into the base of the well through a relief well formed an effective, and final, seal. The Macondo well and the two relief wells were to be abandoned, following standard industry practices.
Government scientists estimated that nearly five million barrels of oil flowed from BP's well, an amount outstripping the estimated 3.3 million barrels spilled into the Bay of Campeche by the Mexican rig Ixtoc I in 1979.
The oil spilled from the BP well first made landfall in Louisiana. But in June, tar balls and oil mousse had reached the shores of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Shortly thereafter, it spread on shore, smearing tourist beaches, washing onto the shorelines of sleepy coastal communities and oozing into marshy bays that fishermen have worked for generations.
By August, the slick appeared to be dissolving far more rapidly than anticipated. The long term damage caused by the spill, however, is still uncertain, in part because large amounts of oil spread underwater rather than surfacing. A new study published in the journal Science in late August confirmed the existence of a huge plume of dispersed oil deep in the Gulf of Mexico and suggested that it had not broken down, raising the possibility that it might pose a threat to wildlife for months or even years.
In September 2010, two independent researchers at Columbia University announced that the federal government, after several missteps, had accurately estimated the amount of oil spilled at nearly 172 million gallons; 185 million gallons, a statistical match when the margins of error are figured in, had actually leaked from the broken well, they said.
By November 2010, the emergency program in the Gulf had ended and the settlement phase began.
A presidential panel named to study the accident called it a preventable one, caused by a series of failures and blunders by the companies involved in drilling the well and the government regulators assigned to police them. In a chapter of its final findings released in early 2011, the panel found that BP, Transocean, Halliburton, and several subcontractors working for them took a series of hazardous and time-saving steps without adequate consideration of the risks involved.
Many other consequences will likely ripple out from the spill for a long time to come: investigations by the Justice Department and Congress into the cause of the spill, new regulations imposing tougher review for deepwater drilling, new leadership for BP as the oil giant struggles to repair a shattered reputation. In December 2010, the Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit in New Orleans against BP and eight other companies over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Although the complaint does not specify the damages that the administration is seeking, the fines and penalties under the laws that are cited in the complaint could reach into the tens of billions of dollars.
Hundreds of thousands of people and businesses have filed for emergency payments from the $20 billion BP fund administered by Kenneth R. Feinberg. More than $2.2 billion has been paid so far in emergency money to those affected by the spill. Mr. Feinberg announced the rules for those settlements in November 2010 after consulting with lawyers, state attorneys general, the Department of Justice and BP.
On Feb. 2, 2011, a report commissioned by Mr. Feinberg predicted that the Gulf of Mexico should recover from the environmental damage caused by the enormous BP oil spill faster than many people expected. The prediction, central to Mr. Feinberg's plan for paying claimants, is certain to be controversial among those who believe the damage will be longer-lasting and therefore should result in higher payouts for the spill’s victims.
On the same day, BP said it planned to sell half of its refining capacity in the United States while expanding in faster-growing economies, and that it would resume paying a dividend for the first time since the explosion.
Tracking the Oil Spill
An updated, interactive graphic tracking the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, including the extent of the spill in the ocean, where oil has made landfall, and the effects on wildlife.
ARTICLES ABOUT THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010)
Oil Spills May Leave More Emotional Than Physical Scars, Study Finds
Doctors also raised concerns about those who cleaned up oil from last year’s Gulf of Mexico disaster and said that the government has not been quick enough in studying health effects of that spill.
April 6, 2011 MORE ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010) AND: POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, OIL (PETROLEUM) AND GASOLINE, MENTAL HEALTH AND DISORDERS, GULF OF MEXICO, NEW ORLEANS (LA)
Bonuses for Transocean Executives Criticized
Transocean, one of the companies involved in the explosion of an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, called 2010 a good year for safety.
April 4, 2011 MORE ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010) AND: EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION, OFFSHORE DRILLING AND EXPLORATION, TRANSOCEAN INC, NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE BP DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL AND OFFSHORE DRILLING
BP Seeks to Resume Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico
BP is seeking permission to keep drilling at 10 existing deepwater wells in the gulf in exchange for adhering to stricter safety rules.
April 3, 2011 MORE ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010) AND: OIL (PETROLEUM) AND GASOLINE, REGULATION AND DEREGULATION OF INDUSTRY, OFFSHORE DRILLING AND EXPLORATION, GULF OF MEXICO, BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT, REGULATION AND ENFORCEMENT, BP PLC, OBAMA, BARACK
Editorial
No to a New Tar Sands Pipeline
The environmental risks of a proposed 1,700-mile oil pipeline from the tar sands fields of Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast are too high.
April 2, 2011 MORE ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010) AND: UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, OIL (PETROLEUM) AND GASOLINE, ENVIRONMENT, PIPELINES, ALBERTA (CANADA), GULF OF MEXICO, TRANSCANADA CORPORATION, STATE DEPARTMENT, CLINTON, HILLARY RODHAM
Transocean Employees Decline to Testify in BP Spill Inquiry
The company, which owned and operated the rig involved in the Deepwater Horizon blowout, said it had no power to force its employees to appear.
April 1, 2011 MORE ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010) AND: OIL (PETROLEUM) AND GASOLINE, SUITS AND LITIGATION, OFFSHORE DRILLING AND EXPLORATION, GULF OF MEXICO, TRANSOCEAN INC, BP PLC
Green
On Our Radar: Brazil May Import Ethanol From U.S.
Brazil moves to control spiking ethanol prices.
March 29, 2011 MORE ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010) AND: Accidents and Safety, Conservation of Resources, Drought, Ethanol, International Trade and World Market, Offshore Drilling and Exploration, Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline, Sugar, Weather, Brazil, Gulf of Mexico, United States, BP Plc, Brown, Edmund G Jr
Green
You Saw the Movie; Now Here's the Book
A new book reconstructs the 2010 gulf oil spill, from the blowout itself to the fitful efforts to stop the gusher to the multiple investigations.
March 29, 2011 MORE ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010) AND: Accidents and Safety, Books and Literature, Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (2011), Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline, Gulf of Mexico, BP Plc, Simon & Schuster Inc, Achenbach, Joel, Obama, Barack
Green
Bills, Baby, Bills
Republicans introduce bills to speed the granting of offshore drilling permits and undercut or reverse the administration's energy and environmental policies.
March 29, 2011 MORE ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010) AND: Accidents and Safety, Air Pollution, Chemicals, Environment, Explosions, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Law and Legislation, Natural Gas, Offshore Drilling and Exploration, Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline, Politics and Government, Regulation and Deregulation of Industry, United States Politics and Government, Brazil, Gulf of Mexico, Environmental Protection Agency, House of Representatives, Interior Department, Republican Party, Senate
Court Blocks BP-Rosneft Arctic Deal
Swedish arbitration tribunal blocks $8 billion stock swap and Arctic exploration agreement between BP Plc and Russian company Rosneft; BP's partners in TNK-BP have long opposed plan arguing that deal conflicts with shareholder agreement that obliges BP to pursue Russian business opportunities exclusively with them; photo
March 25, 2011 MORE ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010) AND: MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES, OIL (PETROLEUM) AND GASOLINE, RUSSIA, BP PLC, ROSNEFT, TNK-BP
Green
Oil Sightings Are Not From BP Spill, Coast Guard Says
Officials suggest that the sheen, spotted off Louisiana, was related to sediment flowing from the Mississippi.
March 21, 2011 MORE ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010) AND: Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline, Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, Mississippi River, BP Plc
EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL; Gulf Oil Spill Damages, Phase Two
Editorial supports Kenneth Feinberg, who is managing the $20 billion compensation fund for victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill; praises him for continuing to make midcourse corrections in the program's rules and urges grandstanding politicians to show some patience for a job that is difficult enough
March 14, 2011 MORE ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010) AND: WATER POLLUTION, OFFSHORE DRILLING AND EXPLORATION, GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010), EDITORIALS, OIL (PETROLEUM) AND GASOLINE, SUITS AND LITIGATION, GULF OF MEXICO, BP PLC, FEINBERG, KENNETH
Obama Defends Energy Policy as Gas Prices Rise
Citing high production in 2010, President Obama said the global oil supply can meet demand as Republicans and industry called for more drilling permits.
March 12, 2011 MORE ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010) AND: OFFSHORE DRILLING AND EXPLORATION, ENERGY AND POWER, STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE (US), OIL (PETROLEUM) AND GASOLINE, OBAMA, BARACK, BOEHNER, JOHN A
Noble Energy Gets First Permit for Deepwater Gulf Drilling
The Interior Department granted the first new deep-water drilling permit in the Gulf of Mexico since the BP spill.
March 1, 2011 MORE ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010) AND: OFFSHORE DRILLING AND EXPLORATION, GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010), OIL (PETROLEUM) AND GASOLINE, GULF OF MEXICO, LOUISIANA, INTERIOR DEPARTMENT, NOBLE ENERGY INC, BP PLC
Green
After the Spill, a 10-Year Health Study
A study led by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences will seek to follow 20,000 workers for 10 years.
March 01, 2011 MORE ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010) AND: Accidents and Safety, Environment, Health Insurance and Managed Care, Medicine and Health, Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline, Gulf of Mexico, BP Plc, National Institutes of Health
The Caucus
Rising Gas Prices Pose Risks for 2012 Contenders
The prospect of a return to $4-a-gallon gas has the potential to become a new headache for the president as he gears up for his reelection.
March 01, 2011 MORE ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL (2010) AND: Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline, Presidential Election of 2008, Gulf of Mexico, United States, BP Plc, Democratic Party, Republican Party, McCain, John, Obama, Barack
