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The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico oil

spill) is a massive ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is the largest offshore spill in U.S.
history.

Cause Well Head Blowout


11 dead
Casualties
17 injured, 2 additional oil related deaths
Operator Transocean under contract for BP

The Deepwater Horizon was a 9-year-old semi-submersible Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU), a
massive floating, dynamically positioned drilling rig built by Hyundai Heavy Industries that could
operate in waters up to 8,000 feet (2,400 m) deep and drill down to 30,000 feet (9,100 m). It was owned
by Transocean, operated under the Marshallese flag of convenience, and was under lease to BP from
March 2008 to September 2013. Drilling with the Transocean Marianas did not start until October 2009
which was seven months after BP filed a 52 page exploration and environmental impact plan for the
Macondo well with the MMS in February 2009. Transocean Marianas was damaged in a late season
hurricane in November 2009 so the Deepwater Horizon was moved into place and commenced drilling
in February 2010. At the time of the explosion, it was drilling an exploratory well at a water depth of
approximately 5,000 feet (1,500 m) in the Macondo Prospect located in the Mississippi Canyon Block
252. Production casing was being installed and cemented by Halliburton Energy Services. Once the
cementing was complete, the well was due to be tested for integrity and a cement plug set to temporarily
abandon the well for later completion as a subsea producer.

During March and early April, several platform workers and supervisors expressed concerns with well
control. At approximately 9:45 p.m. CDT on April 20, 2010, methane gas from the well, under high
pressure, shot up and out of the drill column marine riser, expanded onto the platform, and then ignited
and exploded. Fire then engulfed the platform. Most of the workers were evacuated by lifeboats or were
airlifted out by helicopter, but eleven workers were never found despite a three-day Coast Guard search
operation, and are presumed to have died in the explosion. Efforts by multiple ships to douse the flames
were unsuccessful. After burning furiously for approximately 36 hours, the Deepwater Horizon sank on
the morning of April 22, 2010. On the afternoon of April 22, a large oil slick began to spread at the
former rig site. Two remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) unsuccessfully attempted to cap the
well.
Volume and extent of oil spill

The Deepwater Horizon spill has surpassed in volume the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill as the largest ever
to originate in U.S.-controlled waters; it is comparable to the 1979 Ixtoc I oil spill in total volume
released (Ixtoc discharged 140 to 148 million gallons; as of mid-June 2010, Deepwater Horizon has
spilled 73 million to 126 million gallons).

up to 7,200,000 barrels (302,000,000 US
Volume
gallons; 1,145,000 cubic meters)
Area 2,500 to 9,100 sq mi (6,500 to 24,000 km2)

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