Deepwater Horizon Issues

The topic I want to use for case study is “Deepwater Horizon oil spill” in 2010, which is also called “Gulf of Mexico oil spill of 2010”. It is the largest marine oil spill in the history, it caused approximately 41 miles (66 kilometers) leakage off the coast of Louisiana, and its subsequent sinking on April 22. The Deepwater Horizon rig is owned and operated by offshore-oil-drilling company Transocean and leased by oil company BP. After leakage accident, BP company has agreed to pay $175 m to settle claims that it deceived shareholders by underplaying the severity of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. About 4.9m barrels of crude oild leaked into the Gulf after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, 11 people lost their lives, 17 people get injured.Because it is the worst oil spill ever and even had casualities, it is really

The goal of our research is to seek possible solutions to reduce the risks of offshore oil spills. To attain this goal, we gathered information from over twenty sources, including “Deepwater Horizon oil” from Wikipedia research and an article from the LA Times.

Identify a case of environmental crime. Discuss what occurred in this case (the background and details of the case). Identify the harm caused by the event. Who was arrested and what was the punishment for the offenders (if any). Conclude with the long term or present effect as a result of this crime.

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill occurred on April 20, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. This oil spill was the largest spill in history in front of the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989. This oil spill released about 4.9 million barrels of oil into the ocean. This spill not only wreck havoc on the marine life but also the economic players that depended on ocean such as fisherman, tourism, and offshore drilling located along the gulf coast. Along will the spill the oil rig which was named Deepwater Horizon also went up in flames. This proved that the issue went far beyond just an oil rig that blew a line. Since this oil spill had drastic impacts all along the coast, BP which was the most liable for this incident faced criminal charges based on what happened. BP which knew the risks of deep ocean drilling failed to take the necessary safety procedures to reduce the risks of such incident occurring, thus was the reasoning behind placing most of the fault on them and not the other companies. The lack of regulatory oversight led to the issues and cost-cutting procedures opened the rig up to possible malfunctions like the one that occurred. During the spill into the gulf, BP sealed the well with cement which seemed to stop a majority of the oil from escaping the well. BP also recognized that the well was “dead” which was proven wrong when scientists still could conclude was leaking minor amounts of oil into the ocean. This spill not only proved to be harmful to the environment but also

IMPACT OF THE DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO ON THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT

In April of 2010, the Gulf of Mexico ground to a halt. An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon mobile offshore drilling unit resulted in one of the worst environmental and economic catastrophes in history. Eleven members of the crew were killed, many others sustained serious and permanent injuries. A moratorium on drilling lasted long into the following year. Massive layoffs ensued across multiple business sectors. Many commercial fishing vessels could not leave port, and those that did caught far fewer fish. Oyster beds were destroyed and miles of wetlands were marred by oil. At the time, we could only imagine how pervasive the effects would be. Shortly after the explosion, Arnold & Itkin LLP, a Houston-based litigation boutique, which represented

The catastrophe with the Deepwater Horizon was horrible. Eleven people lost their lives that day, and marine wildlife was affected along with other economic issues for anglers and tourism industries. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill had devastating effects on the local environment and on the public perception of offshore oil drilling. Five million barrels of oil over a three-month period flooded the Gulf of Mexico. The Macondo oil spill, which is what it became called, had an overwhelming impact on the environment. Moreover, oil was scattered over 1300 miles of shoreline from Texas to Florida. In an attempt to clean up the spill, there was incalculable damage was done to fish and other wildlife, marshes, and estuaries. As bad as the Macondo

We have no mention of the well site leaking for two years after the well was supposedly "sealed." Oil was found as far away as Florida and while BP were subject to nearly $46 billion in fines and penalties, no one from the company has served any jail time for criminal negligence in the matter to date.

According to The Times-Picayune, “The lawsuit alleges that safety and operating regulations were violated in the period leading up to April 20.” The lawsuit states that BP failed to keep the Macondo well under control during that period and failed to use the best available and safest drilling technology to monitor the well's conditions. The lawsuit also stated that BP failed to maintain continuous surveillance and maintain its equipment which would have been used to ensure the safety and protection of personnel, equipment, natural resources and the environment. This option has applied the Utilitarian Benefits, the US Government is going to ensure that the greatest benefits for the largest number of people is applied, which in the case is the all the people directly affected by the oil spill. These people are the people who work for the fishing and seafood industries, the tourism industry, restaurants and clubs will be affected by the spill. Also, equally vested are the people who are property owners, renters, and vacationers.

BP has had a long history of ethical and legal violations because BP chose to put profits above all else. In the past twenty years, BP subsidiaries were convicted of environmental crimes in Texas and Alaska. In addition, BP received the biggest fine in US history regarding safety violations. Although BP accepted responsibility, their record showed questionable and illegal behavior for twenty years. One of BP's major issues happened in a Texas refinery close to Galveston in 2005 (Jennings, 2009). This explosion took the lives of fifteen workers and injured five hundred people and caused residents nearby to become sheltered in their homes (Jennings, 2009). The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation board concluded that BP had

This paper will explain some of the effects of three legal issues and three ethical issues surrounding the London-based British Petroleum Company’s involvement in the explosion of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon and the subsequent oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico. There are many legal issues surrounding this disaster, but the three this paper will focus on are the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, maritime laws, and criminal charges

The BP Oil Spill An Introductory Background - One of the most controversial ecological disasters in recent history focused on multinational British Petroleum and their Gulf of Mexico Operations. The Deepwater Oil Disaster began on April 20, 2010 with an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon Oil platform, killing 11, injuring 17. It was not until July 15th, however, that the leak was stopped by capping the wellhead, after releasing almost 5 million barrels (206 million gallons) of crude oil, or 53,000 barrels per day into the Gulf of Mexico. It was not until September 19th that the relief well process was complete and the U.S. Government, EPA, and Coast Guard agencies declared the well breach effectively stopped (Cavnar, 2010).

BP oil spill which is also called the deep water horizon spill have become one of the largest oil spill in the history that began on 20 April 2014. There was discharged of 4.9 million barrels of oil i.e. in the floor of the gulf of Mexico which caused the death of 11 lives, 6104 birds and also the sea turtles as well as the 100 dolphin .likewise, it also affect several wildlife’s .This disaster have wiped nearly about $40 million from the market value of BP’s and also in may 2010, nearly about 130 lawsuits were being filed against BP.

On April 20, the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico led to the largest accidental release of oil into marine waters in history. As a result, a huge loss of money and life was caused and affected serious environmental damage to wild animals and water pollution. BP was accused of their irresponsibility that it took 87 days before the well was closed and sealed. BP’s shares

Deepwater Horizon oil Spill: BP’s drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico had an explosion in April 2010, causing the “largest oil spill catastrophe in the petroleum industry history”. It caused the death of 11 men and injury to several others. “More than 150,000 barrels of crude oil gushed into the sea, every day, for almost 5 months and up to 68,000 square miles of the Gulf 's surface were covered” (1).