July 5, 2010
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Background:
BP plc is a British-based global energy company which is the third largest energy company and it is the United Kingdom’s largest corporation the fourth largest company in the world (BP, Wikipedia). Its name is initials of the company’s former legal names British Petroleum. British Petroleum merged with Amoco in December 1998 and acquired Arco and Burmah Castrol plc in 2000. BP’s industries are oil and gas exploration and petroleum product marketing. BP has transformed: growing from a local oil company into a global energy group; employing over 80,000 people and operating in over 100 countries worldwide(BP’s website). The 20, April 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, in which killed 11 platform workers and injured 17others, lead to an oil spill that devastated a vast area of the United States marine environment and had a serious impact on the local fishing industry. It is the largest offshore spill in U.S. history. Some estimates placed it by late May or early June, 2010, as among the largest oil spills in history with hundreds of millions of gallons spilled to date. In their permit to drill the well, BP estimated the worst case flow at 162,000 barrels (6,800,000 US gallons; 25,800 cubic meters) per day (Michelle, G Initial Exploration Plan Mississippi Canyon Block 252 OCS-G 32306). On June 15, 2010, the government team announced that flow rate increased to 35,000 and 60,000 barrels per day on June 3 when BP installed the containment cap (the encyclopedia of earth, Deepwater Horizon oil spill-overview). The oil slick produced by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has covered as much 28,958 square miles (75,000 square kilometres) (the encyclopedia of earth, Deepwater Horizon oil spill-overview). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that up to 32 National Wildlife