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What companies caused oil spills?
Oil spills in the ocean can wreak havoc on marine ecosystems and cause major environmental issues....Companies Responsible For The Biggest Oil SpillsUnion Oil Company. ... BP. ... Pemex. ... South Gulf Shipping Co. ... Uzbekneftegaz. ... Empresa Naviera Elcano, S.A. ... Amoco. ... Polembros Shipping Ltd.More items...
What company was involved in the biggest oil spill in history?
The Exxon Valdez oil spill was a manmade disaster that occurred when Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker owned by the Exxon Shipping Company, spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989. It was the worst oil spill in U.S. history until the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.
Is the Exxon Valdez still in operation?
The End Is Near GMS in turn re-sold it to the Chinese-owned Best Oasis, Ltd., for $16 million. Exxon Valdez/Exxon Mediterranean/Sea River Mediterranean/S/R Mediterranean/Mediterranean/Dong Fang Ocean/Oriental Nicety being dismantled in Alang, India, 2012.
Who was responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill?
BPU.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said BP was mostly to blame for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster, which killed 11 people and spewed oil into the water for 87 days. Barbier attributed 67% of the fault to BP, 30% to Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, and 3% to Halliburton, the cement contractor.
What is the largest oil spill in world history?
Deepwater HorizonOn April 20, 2010, the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, operating in the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded and sank resulting in the death of 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon and the largest spill of oil in the history of marine oil drilling operations.
What is the biggest oil company in the world?
#1 Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco) (Tadawul: 2222) Saudi Aramco is one of the largest companies in the world across all industries, as well as the largest global oil company by revenue.
What are the 10 biggest oil spills in history?
10 Biggest Oil Spills in HistoryLakeview Gusher.Deepwater Horizon.Ixtoc I.Atlantic Empress/Aegean Captain.Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan.Kovla River Pipeline Leak, Russia.Nowruz Oil Platform, Persian Gulf.ABT Summer, Angola.More items...•
Which one of these was the largest accidental oil spill to date?
BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill is officially the largest accidental spill in world history. It began when an oil well a mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico blew out, causing an explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon rig. The explosion killed 11 people.
When did the Deepwater Horizon oil spill happen?
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill began on April 20, 2010, when an explosion damaged the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. The rig's sinking on April 22 beg...
Who owned the rig responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill?
The oil rig involved in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was owned and operated by offshore oil-drilling company Transocean and leased by the oil co...
What caused the Deepwater Horizon oil spill?
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred after a surge of natural gas blasted through a concrete core recently installed to seal an oil well for la...
How did the Deepwater Horizon oil spill affect birds?
Birds were particularly vulnerable to the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Many died from ingesting oil or because it interfered with th...
Where is the oil coming from?
In its Sunday statement, Talos Energy said it was not responsible for the leak off the coast of Port Fourchon in Louisiana. Instead, the company said its divers had found a broken 12-inch pipeline, not owned by Talos, that appeared to have been displaced from its original location.
Understand the Latest News on Climate Change
Depleting water supplies. The world’s glaciers may contain less water than previously believed, suggesting that freshwater supplies could peak sooner than anticipated for millions of people worldwide who depend on glacial melt for drinking water, crop irrigation and everyday use.
Do other pipelines lie close to the spill site?
At least nine pipeline segments, both in service and abandoned, lie near the leak site.
When did the Deepwater Horizon oil spill happen?
Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also called Gulf of Mexico oil spill, largest marine oil spill in history, caused by an April 20, 2010, explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig—located in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 41 miles (66 km) off the coast of Louisiana —and its subsequent sinking on April 22.
What kept oil from reaching shore?
Scientists noted that the prevailing paths of the Gulf of Mexico's Loop Current and a detached eddy located to the west kept much of the oil, which covered a sizable part of the gulf some three months after the accident, from reaching shore. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
How much oil did the BP tanker cap siphon?
Though fitted loosely over the BOP and allowing some oil to escape, the cap enabled BP to siphon approximately 15,000 barrels of oil per day to a tanker.
When was the BOP removed?
The defective BOP and the capping stack were removed in early September and replaced by a functioning BOP. The success of these procedures cleared the way for a “ bottom kill,” considered to be the most likely means of permanently sealing the leak.
Who owns the Deepwater Horizon?
The Deepwater Horizon rig, owned and operated by offshore-oil-drilling company Transocean and leased by oil company BP, was situated in the Macondo oil prospect in the Mississippi Canyon, a valley in the continental shelf. The oil well over which it was positioned was located on the seabed 4,993 feet ...
What are the effects of oil droplets on the ecosystem?
The effect of the microscopic oil droplets on the ecosystem was unknown, though their presence, along with that of a layer of oil several inches thick discovered on portions of the seafloor in September, cast doubt on earlier predictions about the speed with which the discharged oil would dissipate.
Overview
Efforts To Stem The Flow Of Oil
- Short-term efforts
First, BP unsuccessfully attempted to close the blowout preventer valves on the wellhead with remotely operated underwater vehicles. Next, it placed a 125-tonne containment dome over the largest leak and piped the oil to a storage vessel. While this technique had worked in shallo... - Well declared "effectively dead"
Transocean's Development Driller III started drilling a first relief well on May 2, 2010. GSF Development Driller II started drilling a second relief on May 16, 2010. On August 3, 2010, first test oil and then drilling mud was pumped at a slow rate of approximately 2 barrels per ...
Background
- Deepwater Horizon drilling rig
The Deepwater Horizon was a 10-year-old semi-submersible, mobile, floating, dynamically positioned drilling rig that could operate in waters up to 10,000 feet deep. Built by South Korean company Hyundai Heavy Industries and owned by Transocean, the rig operated under the Marsh… - Explosion
At approximately 7:45 pm CDT, on April 20, 2010, high-pressure methane gas from the well expanded into the marine riser and rose into the drilling rig, where it ignited and exploded, engulfing the platform. At the time, 126 crew members were on board: seven BP employees, 79 …
Reactions
- U.S. reactions
On 30 April, President Obama dispatched the Secretaries of the Department of Interior and Homeland Security, as well as the EPA Administrator and NOAA to the Gulf Coast to assess the disaster. In his 15 June speech, Obama said, "This oil spill is the worst environmental disaster ... - United Kingdom reactions
In the UK, there was anger at the American press and news outlets for the misuse of the term "British Petroleum" for the company – a name which has not been used since British Petroleum merged with the American company Amoco in 1998 to form BP. It was said that the U.S. was 'du…
Access Restrictions
- On May 18, 2010, BP was designated the lead "Responsible Party" under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which meant that BP had operational authority in coordinating the response. The first video images were released on 12 May, and further video images were released by members of Congress who had been given access to them by BP. During the spill response operations, at th…
- On 18 May 2010, BP was designated the lead \"Responsible Party\" under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which meant that BP had operational authority in coordinating the response.The first video images were released 12 May, and further video images were released by members of Congress who had been given access to them by BP.During the spill response operations, at the request o…
Consequences
- Environmental impact
The spill area hosts 8,332 species, including more than 1,270 fish, 604 polychaetes, 218 birds, 1,456 mollusks, 1,503 crustaceans, 4 sea turtles and 29 marine mammals. Between May and June 2010, the spill waters contained 40 times more polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons than before... - Health consequences
By June 2010, 143 spill-exposure cases had been reported to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals; 108 of those involved workers in the clean-up efforts, while 35 were reported by residents. Chemicals from the oil and dispersant are believed to be the cause; it is beli...
Volume And Extent Of Oil Spill
- The oil leak was discovered on the afternoon of April 22, 2010 when a large oil slick began to spread at the former rig site. The oil flowed for 87 days. BP originally estimated a flow rate of 1,000 to 5,000 barrels per day. The Flow Rate Technical Group estimated the initial flow rate was 62,000 barrels per day. The total estimated volume of leaked oil approximated 4.9 million barrel…
- The oil leak was discovered on the afternoon of 22 April 2010 when a large oil slick began to spread at the former rig site. The oil flowed for 87 days. BP originally estimated a flow rate of 1,000 to 5,000 barrels per day (160 to 790 m3/d). The Flow Rate Technical Group (FRTG) estimated the initial flow rate was 62,000 barrels per day (9,900 m3/d). The total estimated volu…
Cleanup
- On 15 April 2014, BP claimed that cleanup along the coast was substantially complete, but the United States Coast Guard responded by stating that a lot of work remained. Using physical barriers such as floating booms, cleanup workers' objective was to keep the oil from spreading any further. They used skimmer boats to remove a majority of the oil and they used sorbents to …
In Popular Culture
- Deepwater Horizon is a 2016 film based on the explosion directed by Peter Berg and starring Mark Wahlberg. In the US on 7 August 2015 was released The Runner, a film directed by Austin Stark and starring Nicolas Cage, which showcases the events of the oil spill following the Deepwater Horizon explosion, even if it \"is a fictional story ... and not totally about that environmental disas…
Legal Aspects And Settlements
- Investigations
In the United States the Deepwater Horizon investigation included several investigations and commissions, including reports by the USCG National Incident Commander, Admiral Thad Allen, the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, Bureau of ... - Spill response fund
On 16 June 2010, after BP executives met with President Obama, BP announced and established the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, a $20 billion fund to settle claims arising from the Deepwater Horizon spill. This fund was set aside for natural resource damages, state and local response...