...BP Oil Spill Introduction: On the evening of April 22nd, 2010, a gas released and subsequent explosion occurred on the deck of Transocean Deepwater oil rig that was on the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven were killed and many were injured during the thirty-six hours it burned while hydrocarbons leaked into the Gulf of Mexico before it was closed off and sealed. The oil slick was produced by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that covered almost 29,000 square miles. The disaster was quickly declared the largest oil spill in United States history. Not only was the ocean surface glazed with oil sheen, the impact on the marine ecosystem below the surface and onshore was devastating. Many concerns were raised about the environmental impact of chemicals known as dispersants that were used to dissipate the oil slick. Governmental agencies and others worked together to control the spill and minimize the impact that it would have on the environment and human health by containing it and cleaning up whatever came ashore. “Oil spills can affect water in a variety of ways it spreads out into a very thin layer across the surface which is called slick and it expands till it’s extremely thin”.(Bourne, 2010, p.2) The Deepwater Horizon oil spill wasn’t an unavoidable accident it was the results from negligence and avarice. The oil spill sparked heated debates regarding a variety of issues; the country’s dependence on fossil fuels, government regulations and which organization was more at fault. Key...
Words: 3002 - Pages: 13
...The influence of new media PR campaign in changing and reshaping public’s attitudes about a brand (BP). Introduction BP (British Petroleum) is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England, United Kingdom incorporated on April 14, 1909, is an integrated oil and gas company. The company provides its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, lubricants and the petrochemicals products used to make everyday items as diverse as paints, cloths and packaging. BP operates in two business segments: Exploration and Production, Refining and Marketing. It’s Exploration and Production segment is responsible for its activities in oil and natural gas exploration, field development and production; midstream transportation, storage and processing, and the marketing and trading of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas, together with power and natural gas liquids. Its Refining and Marketing segment is responsible for the refining, manufacturing, marketing, transportation, and supply and trading of crude oil, petroleum, petrochemicals products and related services to wholesale and retail customers. (Reuters, 2012). However, on April 20th, 2010 a deepwater oil rig exploded, causing a massive oil leak nearly a mile underwater off the coast of Louisiana. This leak produced and oil slick of more than 200 million gallons, affecting more than 4,000 miles of shoreline in eastern Mexico and five U.S Gulf Coast states: Texas, Louisiana...
Words: 3092 - Pages: 13
...1001-065 Final Issue Analysis Fall 2012 The BP Oil Spill On April 20, 2010, the Gulf of Mexico was changed forever. The explosion of a deepwater oil-drilling rig changed the lives of millions for years to come. The Gulf of Mexico as we knew it would be changed for decades to come after the mistakes made by the Deepwater Horizon’s crew that day. British Petroleum, the oil giant responsible for the disaster, left the American citizens of the Gulf Coastal region terrified and helpless. There were seventeen men injured in the explosion and eleven unaccounted for presumed dead, while hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico (BP Oil). The oil spill caused by the explosion may be recorded as one of the most catastrophic oil spills in history. This disaster served as a wake up call for the United States to seriously consider producing a well defined set of regulations for drilling in open waters. British Petroleum, although being originally founded in 1909, did not become one of the major competing oil companies until 1995 when John Browne became CEO of the company. Since this time BP has become a company that would violate laws involving regulation and cut numerous corners to create greater profit. When compared to Chevron and other oil companies, British Petroleum has been accused of 518 or more than two times as many safety violations than any other company. Also between the years 2000 and 2009 the amount of oil BP spilled into the Gulf of Mexico equated...
Words: 1834 - Pages: 8
...BP OIL SPILL Under the Deepwater Horizon, an offshore drilling ring of British Petroleum (BP) caused an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The incident occurred on April 20th 2010, where equipment failed and caused the explosion sinking the ring, and causing the death of 11 workers and more than 17 workers injured. The British based energy company also faced other problems at the site of the oil spill. More than 40 million gallons (estimated data) of oil spewed into the Gulf of Mexico. Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a very serious threat for the wildlife as it causes water pollution. The oil spill effected many coastal areas in the US, like the Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. The oil spill disaster strongly damaged wildlife cycle in the Gulf of Mexico, and many species were thrown into extinction. Similarly, thousands of businesses were thrown into extinction. Many people has questioned the ethical decisions and core value system that BP used to cut corners with the accident; namely, the race to maximize profits at all costs. We are all aware that one of the main causes that let to the disaster were the result of bad decisions, in which a less expensive option (whether to run a test or use a particular kind casing pipe, for example) would save lives. There has been “zero dollars spent on research concerning how to handle oil spills for off-shore drilling by BP despite the company's NET profits - above and beyond all salaries, bonuses, or overhead costs- of...
Words: 822 - Pages: 4
...On April 20, 2010 a gas release and explosion happened on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, famously known as the BP oil spill. It was the largest oil spill in the United States history, eleven people died from the spill and injured 17 others. From the spill there was about more than about 200 million gallons of crude oil that was pumped into the Gulf of Mexico. It happened for almost a total of 87 days, the oil spill started on April 20 until July 15. From underwater cameras it showed that the BP pipe was leaking oil and gas on the ocean floor about 42 miles off the coast of Louisiana. After hearing about the oil spill workers from BP and many government agencies tried to control the spread of the oil to beaches and other coastal ecosystems using floating booms to contain surface oil and chemical oil dispersants to break it down underwater. [pic]Over a period of those 87 days the wellhead leaked for about 3.19 million barrels. After the release of the oil it cause some floated to the ocean's surface to form oil slicks which expanded more quickly by being pushed by winds. The spill affected coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida adding up to total about 16,000 miles. Many investigations were started from the incident, the U.S government faulted BP and the rig operator. Due to many much of the spill coming in contact with wetlands and estuaries affecting many wildlife habitats and fishing and tourism. Being that Louisiana is mostly a tourist state, they...
Words: 1496 - Pages: 6
...Since April of 2010, BP Oil Company has been working to repair the damages of an oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. According to Do Something, an environmental website, have reported the death and injury of 28, more than 8,000 animals dead within six months, and 16,000 miles of coastline pollution (11 Facts about the BP Oil Spill). Many accounts blame this catastrophe on BP’s neglect to properly build and maintain machinery. Several clean up workers and fisherman have been affected due to this oil spill (Reed 35). People living near the coast line has been affected due to polluted air and water. Many children had been sick and they had problem breathing fresh air. BP’s ways of “cutting corners” are a point of interest when considering the factors leading to the Deep-water Horizon Oil Spill. There were several issues with this oil spill: professional issues, ethics and new technology issues, legal, regulatory and political, safety issues, and environmental issues. If BP would have taken care of all these issues there had been no oil spill. According to the official federal report, BP’s management cut corners in many areas, especially during the installation of the drill. While drilling the drill pipe got stuck and the engineering had to redesign the parameters but completely cut corners to drill the fastest way possible, which was the start of BP’s problems. Events leading up to the Deepwater Horizon incident led one to question the values and motives of the British Petroleum...
Words: 1730 - Pages: 7
...Affiliated Institute Subject Date The BP Oil Spill Introduction Oil spill refers the condition in which fluids of petroleum flow into marine habitats (IMO 2005). Water pollution is one of the types of pollutions known to be very notorious in controlling. Although oil products are insoluble in water, the method of evacuating oil spills from the water surface, is never an easy task. When oil spills occur, the layer of petroleum formed on the surface of the water leads to blockage of the oxygen mixing with the water, to support marine life. Consequently, the marine life is affected, and if no control measures taken in time, it can lead to mass destruction to the marine life. In history, many oil spills have occurred with varied intensity. The accident of British Petroleum is one of the notable oil spills in the history. The BP oil spill that occurred back in April, 2010 in the Mexico’s Gulf is among the oil spills that caused a massive damage to the marine life. According to Ocean Portal Team (The Ocean Portal Team 1), the BP oil spill was ranked among the worst ever oil spills in the history. As a result of this accident, the British Petroleum management has been very vigilant in their businesses, and they have sought to assure everyone that they are committed to avoiding such occurrences in the future. BP being not an American firm, it has attempted to convince the Americans that indeed its management had felt the impact of the spill as any citizen of the nation would....
Words: 684 - Pages: 3
...High School BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Investigation Subject: Geography Level: High (HL) Name: Stephanie Chinese: 姜智旻 Homeroom: 10-5 Word count: 1088 Student number: 4192 Supervisor: Craig Hamilton   On 20th of August 2010, the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, operating in the Gulf of Mexico exploded then sunk resulting to 11 deaths. During the 87 days, about 4.9 billion barrels of oil had already spread. An estimation of 42,000 gallon of oil is oozing from underwater. From then 75,000km2 was not allowed for fishing.  Apparently, the blowout preventer device had bad managements and operations, and failed. Investigators said, “The problems with this blowout preventer were worse than we understood.†(Seth, 2014) In addition, investigators have stated that the cause of this explosion was because of the screw ups with cement, drilling mud, fluid pressure, mismanaged tests, and poor decisions. Therefore, this device should be improved so it doesn’t happen again. They have discovered that it has been the device operator’s fault in view of the fact that the blowout preventer hasn’t been tested accurately, there were problems in the wiring and dead batteries. In order to clean the oil excess, they used powerful chemicals, which they don’t know the effects of on the environment. It was from 1.6km down to the bottom. After this cause, the British Petroleum (BP) went into investigation, negotiating with more than 50 expertise from within BP and industry...
Words: 1281 - Pages: 6
...No. 55 High School BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Investigation Subject: Geography Level: High (HL) Name: Stephanie Chinese: 姜智旻 Homeroom: 10-5 Word count: 1088 Student number: 4192 Supervisor: Craig Hamilton On 20th of August 2010, the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, operating in the Gulf of Mexico exploded then sunk resulting to 11 deaths. During the 87 days, about 4.9 billion barrels of oil had already spread. An estimation of 42,000 gallon of oil is oozing from underwater. From then 75,000km2 was not allowed for fishing. Apparently, the blowout preventer device had bad managements and operations, and failed. Investigators said, “The problems with this blowout preventer were worse than we understood.” (Seth, 2014) In addition, investigators have stated that the cause of this explosion was because of the screw ups with cement, drilling mud, fluid pressure, mismanaged tests, and poor decisions. Therefore, this device should be improved so it doesn’t happen again. They have discovered that it has been the device operator’s fault in view of the fact that the blowout preventer hasn’t been tested accurately, there were problems in the wiring and dead batteries. In order to clean the oil excess, they used powerful chemicals, which they don’t know the effects of on the environment. It was from 1.6km down to the bottom. After this cause, the British Petroleum (BP) went into investigation, negotiating with more than 50 expertise from within BP and industry. Not only...
Words: 1281 - Pages: 6
...The Gulf oil spill is recognized as the worst disaster in U.S. history.(Worse than not graduating high school) Within days of the April 20, 2010 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 people, underwater cameras revealed the BP pipe was leaking oil and gas on the ocean floor about 42 miles off the coast of Louisiana. By the time the well was capped on July 15, 2010 (87 days later), an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf. The well was located over 5,000 feet beneath the water’s surface in the vast frontier of the deep sea—a permanently dark environment, marked by constantly cold temperatures just above freezing and extremely high pressures. Scientists divide the ocean into at least three zones, and the deep ocean accounts for about three-quarters of Earth’s total ocean volume. Immediately after the explosion, workers from BP and Transocean (owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig), and many government agencies tried to control the spread of the oil to beaches and other coastal ecosystems using floating booms to contain surface oil and chemical oil dispersants to break it down underwater. Additionally, numerous scientists and researchers descended upon the Gulf region to gather data. Researchers are still trying to understand the spill and its impact on marine life, the Gulf coast, and human communities. Over the course of 87 days, the damaged Macondo wellhead, located around 5,000 feet beneath the ocean's...
Words: 2714 - Pages: 11
...Turtles and The Gulf Oil Spill On Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 an event occurred that would change marine life forever. On that horrifying day BP’s deep horizon oilrig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded. The spill was considered the 4th major oil spill in the Gulf in over 50 years. The oil spill affected a lot of marine life, but mostly affected the sea turtles. The sea turtles in the Gulf were greatly affected by this catastrophic event in many ways. Sea turtles have lived in the Gulf for over hundreds of years, and one of the major things that were affected by the spill was their breeding. Around this time every year the female turtles head shore to lay their eggs. Since the oilrig exploded, there is a lot of oil in the ocean where the turtles are swimming, there is oil on the beaches where the turtles are laying the eggs, and there is oil where the new hatchlings are going to be swimming. This is not good for the turtles because the oil is going to cause harm and death in most of these newborn sea turtles. Another reason the sea turtles were affected was that their habitats were ruined. Five out of the seven species of sea turtles live in the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf is home to a lot of sea life, including the turtles. Since the Gulf is covered in oil, the habitat that these turtles are living in, are not fit to live in. So now the turtles are confused and have nowhere to live. They need to relocate or they are going to die. The oil spill affected a lot of things...
Words: 610 - Pages: 3
...preventer (BOP) equipment, which allowed the release and subsequent ignition of hydrocarbons. Ultimately, the BOP emergency functions failed to seal the well after the initial explosions. We regret the impacts on the environment and livelihoods of those in the communities affected. We have and continue to put in place measures to help ensure it does not happen again. How we responded We have acted to take responsibility for the clean-up working under the direction of the federal government, to respond swiftly to compensate people affected by the impact of the accident, to look after the health, safety and welfare of the large number of residents and people who helped respond to the spill and to support the economic recovery of the Gulf Coast’s tourism and seafood industries impacted by the spill. We have conducted studies with federal and state natural resource trustees to identify and define the injury to natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico. As of 31 December 2012, we had spent more than $14 billion on our response activities. Throughout, we have sought to work closely with government, local residents, our shareholders, employees, the wider industry and the media. In addition, we have committed long-term funding for independent research to improve our knowledge of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem and better understand and...
Words: 326 - Pages: 2
...Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill or the Macondo blowout) is a massive ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, now considered the largest offshore spill in U.S. history. Some estimates placed it by late May or early June as among the largest oil spills in the world with tens of millions of gallons spilled to date. The spill stems from a sea floor 10,000 foot deep oil gusher (MC252) that followed the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion. The explosion killed 11 platform workers and injured 17 others. Factors that contributed are: 1. The cement that seals the reservoir from the well; 2. The casing system, which seals the well bore; 3. The pressure tests to confirm the well is sealed; 4. The execution of procedures to detect and control hydrocarbons in the well, including the use of the BOP; 5. The BOP Emergency Disconnect System, which can be activated by pushing a button at multiple locations on the rig; 6. The automatic closure of the BOP after its connection is lost with the rig; and 7. Features in the BOP to allow Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) to close the BOP and thereby seal the well at the seabed after a blow out. A failure of the cement plug was found contributed to the blowing of an exploration. As far as the drilling processes going on a cement cork is placed at the bottom of the well in order to temporarily shut it off before pumping the oil out. As the cement...
Words: 2392 - Pages: 10
...April 20, 2010, a gas release and subsequent explosion occurred on BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The explosion involved a loss of hydrostatic control of the well and failure of the blowout preventer equipment that allowed the release and ignition of hydrocarbon. The explosion claimed 11 lives and 205 million gallons of oil spilled into the surrounding ecosystems which made it the largest accidental oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. In response to the crisis, BP created its “Gulf of Mexico Restoration” website as a form of crisis management to protect and repair its reputation. BP’s “Gulf of Mexico Restoration” website uses these three strategies to try to repair its reputation: highlighting current financial data and reports to show the accurate compensation contributions BP has given to the Gulf; displaying videos with images that de-emphasize the damage by focusing on restored areas and statistics showing how the Gulf has restored business continuity; and uses powerful headers and sub-headers titled to portray optimistic restoration objectives. To restore its reputation, BP's "Gulf of Mexico Restoration" website provides current financial data and reports that show the donations BP has given to the Gulf to prove its strong commitment to helping the affected areas. Effectively communicating its use of compensation as a reputation repair strategy, BP provides public data reports updated as of September 30, 2013 under the sub-heading “Compensating...
Words: 1314 - Pages: 6
...ignited and exploded, engulfing the platform entirely. At the time, 126 crew members were on board when the explosion occurred: seven BP employees, 79 of Transocean, and employees of various other companies. Eleven workers were never found despite a three-day search, and are believed to have died in the accident. 94 crew members were rescued, 17 of whom were treated for injuries. The largest oil leak in history was then discovered on April 22, when a large oil slick began to spread at the former rig site. The oil flowed for 87 days, dumping more than 200 million gallons of oil into the ocean- until the leak was capped on July 15. Because of this awful man-made mistake, thousands of animals died immediately, including some of the very humans that helped cause this catastrophe. (Source 1) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found 1,014 birds with oil on them, causing birds to lose their buoyancy and the ability to regulate body temperature, 997 were dead, and 749 were alive. The NOAA also found 528 sea turtles, with 400 dead, and 128 alive. Also, Mammals could have ingested oil, which causes ulcers and internal bleeding- 51 mammals were found, with 47 dead and 4 alive. Also, dead and dying deep sea corals were discovered seven miles from the Deepwater Horizon well, along with many fish. Many of the dead fish found were cut open and oil was found in their gills and their heart. According to Source 3, “Some scientists say there are indications of complex, long-term...
Words: 670 - Pages: 3
