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Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Background

Oil Spill Disaster On March 24, 1999, the Exxon Valdez spilled 10.8 million gallons of crude oil in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The spill eventually covered 1,300 miles of coastline and 11,000 square miles of ocean. Up until April, 2010, it was the largest oil spill in history.

Sites containing Exxon Valdez Oil Pollution in 1999

Deepwater Horizon was an offshore drilling rig. In September 2009, the rig drilled the deepest oil well in history at a vertical depth of 35,050 ft. It cost $600M to build.

Earth Day 2010 was NOT such a great day for the earth. Bad News…… Earth Day 2010 was NOT such a great day for the earth. 

The Deepwater Horizon was drilling 41 miles off the coast of Louisiana on April 20, 2010, when an explosion occurred at 10pm.

The explosion left eleven of the 126 people on board dead. Click here for live footage

Video Clip Flyover of the spill

The resulting fire could not be extinguished The resulting fire could not be extinguished. After 36 hours, on April 22, 2010, the rig sank. This left the well gushing, causing the largest offshore oil spill in United States history.

The Coast Guard estimated that 42,000 gallons of crude oil was leaking from the well 5,000 feet below the surface.

Reports stated that the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico was producing 10-14 times more oil than previously estimated. Up to 210,000 gallons were being spilled every 24 hours. The oil spread 5,000 square miles by April 28th.

What’s happened underwater? Video Clip What’s happened underwater?

Oil reaches the shore of Louisiana. By Day 30: Oil reaches the shore of Louisiana.

This computer image released Thursday, June 3, 2010 by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research shows that oil leaking from a damaged well in the Gulf of Mexico could wind up on the East Coast and even get carried on currents across the Atlantic Ocean. The National Center for Atmospheric Research models showed Thursday that oil could enter the Gulf's loop current, go around the tip of Florida and as far north as Cape Hatteras, N.C. 

Expert Opinions on the Damage Oil industry expert Bob Cavnar says, “the real doomsday scenario here is…Basically you’ve got uncontrolled flow. There is nothing they can do except the relief wells.”

What are Relief Wells? It is a secondary well that is used to tame the flow of an oil spill. It is dug at a safe distance from the original drilling site, tapping into the troubled piping and diverting the pressurized liquid.

Finally on July 15th the leak was stopped.

Other Oil Spill Damages A 1979 oil spill in Mexico dumped 140 million gallons of oil into the southern Gulf. A 1979 Texas oil spill lost 10 million gallons. A 1978 Puerto Rico oil spill dumped 10.5 million gallons. In 1986 Campeche, Mexico spilled 10.4 million gallons into the sea.

The Gulf of Mexico has seen 267 oil spills between 1960 and 1996. As of 2006 there were almost 4,000 oil and natural gas platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico, and 34,000 miles of pipeline on the seafloor. The Gulf of Mexico has seen 267 oil spills between 1960 and 1996.

Hurricane Damage When Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf, 7-9 million gallons of oil were spilled. 

The “Dead Zone” The wildlife “dead zone” in the center of the Gulf of Mexico is over 7,000-square-miles wide.

What is a “Dead Zone”? An area in oceans or lakes usually where there's not enough oxygen to sustain life. When nutrients enter the water, they create an algae bloom. When the algae sink, bacteria start decomposing them, which uses up the available oxygen causing other organisms to die.

Gulf of Mexico “Dead Zone”

Damage Estimates of the spill make this the largest oil spill ever in the world, threatening fisheries, tourism, and the habitat of hundreds of bird species.

The Clean Up

More than 6165 turtles were found dead!

Beaches affected by oil spill

Video Clip Who’s To Blame?

Trial was scheduled to determine liability and fines under the Clean Water Act and the Natural Resources Damage Assessment. Did the companies act with gross negligence and willful misconduct?  How much damage was there? How much should they be responsible for? Did they lie about how much oil was being spilled? If they lied, how should they be punished?

BP Pays the Price On June 16, 2010, BP agreed to pay $20 Billion for damages from the spill and $100M for lost wages for oil rig workers left unemployed.

BP CEO Tony Hayward resigns. July 27, 2010 BP CEO Tony Hayward resigns.

End result 205.8 million gallons of oil and 225,000 tons of methane into the Gulf of Mexico. Approximately 25 percent of the oil was recovered, leaving more than 154 million gallons of oil at sea.  http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/energy/dirty_energy_development/oil_and_gas/gulf_oil_spill/a_deadly_toll.html

Animal Death Toll 82,000 birds of 102 species 6,165 sea turtles 25,900 marine mammals, including bottlenose dolphins, spinner dolphins, melon-headed whales and sperm whales Unknown number of fish — including bluefin tuna Unknown number of crabs, oysters, corals More than a thousand miles of shoreline, including beaches and marshes, which took a substantial toll on the animals and plants found at the shoreline, including sea grass, beach mice, shorebirds and others.

Ironic?

What kinds of things do you think that BP executives should pay for? Exit Slip What kinds of things do you think that BP executives should pay for? Explain why.