Deepwater Horizon

The incident

On 20 April 2010, the oil rig Deepwater Horizon, located in the Gulf of Mexico, suffered an explosion followed by an oil spill 1,500 m below the surface. 17 people were injured and 11 died. The well released between 8,400 and 9,900 m^³ of crude oil daily. This incident is the largest oil spill in US history.

Spill Response

• Resources deployed: 47,000 responders, 6,000 vessels, and innovative response methods (underwater dispersion, in-situ burning, containment cap on the well).
• Intervention:
• 15 July 2010: Leak stopped after multiple failed attempts (containment cap, “Top Kill”, relief wells).
• 19 September 2010: Well definitively plugged.
• Response at sea: implementation of large-scale innovative methods (use of dispersants, booms, in-situ burning, fishermen).
• Response on land and shoreline clean-up: manual and mechanical recovery, creation of sand berm barriers, Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Teams (SCAT).
• Conclusion: 779,000 m³ of oil spilled, 40% of which was treated (recovery, dispersion, in-situ burning, natural degradation).

Impacts

• Environment: 6,124 birds, 608 marine turtles, and 100 marine mammals dead. Disturbance to the ecosystem.
• Economy: Fishing ban on 36% of federal waters, major losses in the tourism and fishing industries.
• Human health: assessment and monitoring of the responders’ health (toxic fumes, heatstrokes).

Legal proceedings and compensation

• BP found guilty of “gross negligence” (2014).
• Record amount for compensation: 65 billion dollars (fines, cleaning costs, compensation).
• Reinforcement of the norms: Moratorium on deep water drilling, creation of research funds (e.g. Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative).

Conclusions and developments

• Technical and human failure: Blowout preventer failure, risk assessment mistakes.
• Innovations: Underwater injection of dispersants, large-scale in-situ burning.
• Evolution and strengthening of offshore regulations and pollution response contingency planning. The regulation evolved in Europe. On 21 February 2013, the member states and MEPs reached an agreement regarding a directive on safety of offshore oil and gas operations.