The Oil Spill Of 2010

Oil covered everything: beaches, animals, plants, bottoms of boats. Approximately 205.8 million gallons of oil leaked into the ocean and toward the Louisiana shoreline. To put the amount in perspective, that oil could be used to drive a Toyota Prius around the earth 184,181 times (Repanich). All of this pollution and destruction because of one singular company: British Petroleum. Needless to say, the image of BP was tarnished because of this. What can a company do to come back from such a serious setback? This was the question that was faced by the company in 2010 (when the spill occurred), and is still being wrestled with today. By analyzing BP’s “Commitment to the Gulf” ad campaign, the brand’s desired identity is made very apparent. When it comes to oil, nearly all consumers are involved. However, BP does take specific steps in order to narrow down a target audience when it comes to advertising its product. Despite the hardships faced by BP stemming from the spill, consumers still have an addiction to oil. BP, the fourth largest oil company in the world (“Biggest Oil”), has such a firm hold on consumer society that it is a necessity in today’s consumer landscape. By pushing the brand’s identity to its target audience, BP used branding to overcome a severe controversy and rebuild the image it hoped to convey to consumers.

This presentation features the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which significantly affected the environment in and around Valdez, Alaska. In this connection, Group D will explore: the background information of Prince William Sound, the oil business in Valdez and the event of the oil spill. Next, the team defines the problems – that is, the effects of the spill – what damage did it cause. After, we will diagnose the issues – meaning that the group intends to pinpoint the root causes of the problems. The next step is to substantiate that the stated causes are linked to the issues; to accomplish the aforesaid, the response time and level of preparedness will be analysed. In order to mitigate similar incidents, the team explores action plans that have

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

In this paper I will be discussing the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on microbes in different locations of the Gulf Coast. A study done by Lamendella et al. (2012) investigated the effect of the oil on samples of microbes collected from a beach that was heavily impacted by the spill. Another investigation took a look at microbes on surface sediment samples from 64 different sites (Mason et al., 2014). A third study researched the past, present, and possible future responses of microbial communities, and how they have evolved to adapt to oil that was failed to be removed (Kimes et al., 2014).

number of species damaged. They estimate that about 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, and up to 22 killer whales are killed by this oil spill, not to mention billions of salmon and herring eggs.

Oil spills have been a major environmental problem that can be hard to detect and expensive to clean up. Since 1969 there have been at least 44 major oil spills of over 420,00 gallons that have had an affect on waters in the United States (Response.restoration.noaa.gov, 2015) The most recent devastating major oil spill was the 2010 Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling rig. Nearly 125 million gallons of oil was released into the Gulf of Mexico that wreaked havoc on local economies and wild life with effects that are still lingering to this day (Elliott, 2015). One part of dealing with a major oil spill, such as the Deepwater Horizon, is figuring out how much oil is involved and researches at the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (VIMS) have developed a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that is capable of gauging the volume of oil spilled by measuring the thickness of an oil slick (Malmquist, 2015).

These two studies investigated the effects of the April 2010 BP Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the observable effects that it has had on coral reef and salt marsh ecosystems. The study conducted by White investigated nine coral communities six months after the spill using ROVs. In an area 11 km west of the spill site, the researchers studied scleractinian, gorgonian, antipatharian corals and found many that were covered with floc, a brown flocculent material, that is linked to coral tissue damage and mortality. The study conducted by Silliman et. al. investigated the oil spill impacts on the salt marshes lining the Louisiana coast. Silliman and his team identify oil spills as one of the most damaging forms of pollution due to their unpredictable nature and associated lack of readily available tools and resources that would be needed to restrict their impact on nearby ecosystems. The team studied salt marshes located in Barataria Bay, LA which was one the regions that experienced some of the most extensive oiling from the spill. The team investigated the current status and future impacts of the spill on the marshes. Past data revealed that negative impacts on marshes could be corrected with plant re-growth and oil degradation that naturally occurs with time, and at even faster rates in warmer climates, which provides a hopeful outlook for the LA region. In addition to the direct effects of oiling, the team also analyzed the geomorphic effects that may be a

The movie, Deepwater Horizon, was inspired by the events of the BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010. It all started with engineer, Mike Williams and the rig supervisor, Jimmy Harrell. The two men were called up, along with a few more crew members, to fly out to Deepwater Horizon and work on the rig for three weeks. Upon arrival, they were informed that the team whose job it was to run the cement log on the concrete foundation of the rig were leaving early without doing their job. Mr. “Don” Vidrine, a top BP company man, was the enforcer of this order. Don sent them on their way because the rig was behind schedule and had lost too much money to be attempting to waste more on something that was, in his mind, unimportant. The result of that decision led to a catastrophe.

On April 20, 2010, at 9:45 pm, the Deepwater Horizon experienced an explosive blowout on a rig located in the Gulf of Mexico. The explosion was about 40 miles of the Louisiana coast. With the flow of gas leaking out, it caused the death of eleven workers on the rig. About two days later the rig sank, which caused quite a lot of damage to a pipeline that laid drawn-out through 5,000 feet of water. As a result, the oil begin pouring from the damaged pipes into the ocean nearby, at the incredible rate. The Deepwater Horizon was built in 2001, and was owned by the Transocean Ltd. There are many people who blame the owners of the oil drilling company and its associates for allowing the disaster to occur on its watch. The resulting explosions at Deepwater Horizon and the oil spill that occurred after, enraged millions of people around the world. Consequently, the BP Company has faced multiple inspections from the U.S government, which is trying to hold BP responsible for its role in the oil spill.

We all know that people make mistakes, but are businesses making too many mistakes and not caring at all that they have large effects on people, the environment and many other things.

Before the occurrence of the Deepwater Horizon event, BP had already been labelled as having a horrible safety record. A 2009 report by the United States Department of Labour Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Todd & Petterson , 2009), indicated that BP had 270 existing fines of a ‘failure to abate’ and 439 ‘wilful violations’ of various safety protocols.

The Gulf oil spill has been considered as the worst oil spill in the history of Unites States. One of the world’s largest energy companies, British Petroleum had been held responsible for the deep-water horizon explosion, which killed 11 people in April 2010. As a result of the explosion, oil has leaked into the ocean killing the aquatic life. The impact of the explosion was so great that it was impossible for human diver to reach the ocean floor. Hence, remote control robots were used for this purpose. There was a leak in the oil and gas pipe as revealed by the underwater camera. Approximately, 3.19 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf coast by the time workers capped the oil well in July 2010.

These fossil fuels serve to be very beneficial for our use and need for energy. The accessibility of these energy sources are relatively abundant in our environment. These sources of energy, specifically crude oil for example, are found in abundance underground in certain areas. For example, while there is not huge oil sources underground everywhere, there are large rigs in certain areas of the world that supply an astronomical amount of crude oil for our use. Places such as Saudi Arabia and Canada have been the 2 largest providers of non-renewable oil for the US. Similarly, there are many places in the US that non-renewable resources like oil and coal have been tapped into. These oil rigs and coal mines are being used at a rate that some worry is not sustainable, or responsible. The oil rigs, in particular, produce a real economic boom as well as the benefit to fulfill our energy needs. For example, back when gasoline was 4 dollars a gallon, it

Cash, in a broad sense, means a positive bank account or the access to a

The world has been affected by many environmental disasters, these events have impacted many of our ecosystems including the lives of many species, as well as human life. Because of past events, economists have learned from mistakes to continue to work on an improved environmental life as well as looking for solutions to improve it. The Deepwater Horizon spill, better knows as the “BP Oil Spill” was an eighty seven oil spill effecting the entire Gulf of Mexico. The oil spill which occurred in 2010 is still the largest accidental oil spill in the history of petroleum industry (CNN). Economists are still working to this day to diminish the severity of the oil spill, and the long-lasting problems that have came with it. Since then prevention became the key component solution to prevent accidental oil pollution. With over 4.2 million barrels being spilled into the Gulf, environmental disasters such as the oil spill make citizens aware of the costliness of the environment that plays hand in hand with an environmental luxury such as oil. The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico and the subsequent oil spill led us to review our marine pollution control policy and to plan ahead to stay prepared for any events that happen in the future. By doing this, oil companies will provide a correct means to strategize, compensate, and prevent oil spills and economical damage that follows.