Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Research Paper

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Veronica Goncalves

Professor Quazi Seraj

English 112

11 October 2012

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was a devastating event that lasted several months. It occurred

on April 20 through July 15, 2010 offshore Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico, USA. Deepwater Horizon

is owned and operated by British Petroleum (BP). The spill was caused by an oil gusher on the

ocean floor. The Deepwater Horizon rig started drilling a well at a water depth of 5,000ft in MC

block 252 when it caught fire in April 2010. Deepwater Horizon is a fifth-generation deepwater

rig owned by Transocean and leased by BP. It was characterized as the largest accidental
Large and

catastrophic spills are rare events but have the potential to cause the most serious ecological risk

and result in long-term environmental disturbances and economic impact on coastal activities.

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Causes of oil spills

Oil tanks, offshore platforms and drilling rigs can spill due to a number of reasons.

Machinery and equipment can fail to function properly. Tankers and barges can crash in into

unexpected land and cause a hole or a crack that allows oil to spill out. When oil is being moved

from one vessel to another it can leak too. Terrorists when at war purposely dump oil into clean

water into opposing countries with the intention of publicity and costly damage. People dump

crude oil into the waters illegally to not spend money on decomposing waste. Also natural

disasters such as hurricanes can cause oil spills by causing oil tankers to flip over or

damage off shore drilling facilities. Spills also occur on land. “Nearly 85 percent of the
The difficulty of the cleanup depends on the

amount that is spilled, the weather, location and the type of oil. Gasoline tends to evaporate in

the air making it generally easier to cleanup. When oil is spilled into the ocean the waves cause it

to disperse. The combination of the chemicals can at times sink to the bottom of the ocean and

sinks onto rocks and sand, causing problems to the ocean floor and its surrounding species. It can

also get brushed up on shore and cause damage to land animals and flora.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard are some of the

organizations that help prevent, organize and control clean ups when necessary. They have

policies and procedures entailed to train professionals making companies accountable for their

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mistakes. These trainings help prepare them to handle and prevent these