The Spill Of The Bp Oil Spill

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.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico occurred because “oil from the well shot up and out of the drill column under high pressure, extended on the drilling rig and exploded (wikipedia)”. The rig set on fire and later sank. BP, Transocean, along with government agency employer, all worked hard to avoid further spread of the oil.

How did the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 affect our economy and environment, and what does the future hold, with regard to the environment, oil drilling, and sustainability?

The oil spill created long term problems for the living organisms that inhabit the Gulf of Mexico. The oil covered the feathers of birds, making them unable to float at the surface. The oil killed some of the deep sea coral as far as seven miles away from the site. Mammals ingested the oil, which resulted in some of the mammals having internal bleeding and ulcers. This has also lead to an increase in sea turtles stranding, sick dolphins, and a decrease in population of many marine animals. This disaster stuck during the breeding season for many species of wildlife. “The oil’s toxicity may have hit egg and larval organisms immediately”, which could have wiping out those age classes. Population dips and cascading food web has occurred due to

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

A tragic explosion on April 20th, 2010 changed the Gulf of Mexico and the area surrounding it completely. This was the disastrous explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. The oil industry has been a large part of the United States’ history for decades and the company BP has been part of it since the start of oil production. According to the article “Standard Oil Company and Trust American Corporation”, John D. Rockefeller ran the Standard Oil Company from 1870- 1911 and controlled almost all of the United States’ oil production (Standard Oil Company 1). The Standard Oil company split into several companies in the early 1900s. The British Petroleum Company purchased some of the Standard Oil Company in Ohio and was later renamed “BP” (Standard Oil Company 12). BP leased the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in 2001. It was built in 2001 by Hyundai Heavy Industries and owned by the company Transocean (Blanchfield 6). 9 years later, the rig had an unfortunate incident that had a lasting impact.

On April 20, 2010, the British Petroleum (BP) leased Deepwater Horizon drilling rig took an unexpected kick of gas pressure from an oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. The release ignited, and through the failure of the blowout preventers progressed into a firestorm. The fire consumed the drilling rig platform, sinking it, causing 11 casualties, and the subsequent release of 4.9 million barrels of oil into in the gulf before the release contained (British Petroleum). The incident is

“The production manager should control the manufacturing processes so as to eliminate any defective items, identify any weakness that become apparent during production.”(Manuel 2006). BP failed to follow safety regulations as a matter of fact. Right after the spill happened, BP’s diplomat has claimed that there was no one to blame, even the people who worked in the pipe line, their jobs were normally done. If you look for mistakes, you will find some. It was just a freak accident that was not expected from the situation. However, as the investigation went further, more and more evidence has been shown that it was not an accident but negligence. They didn’t do proper testing, for example, BP halted tests on the well lining five days before the explosion and kept oilfield testing firm Schlumberger on standby, according to NOLA. It had no plans to conduct a cement bond log test, which uses Sonics to identify weaknesses in the cement, known as a gold standard test. Also, Oil rig worker Mike Mason told Huffington Post he observed cheating on blowout preventer tests at least 100 times, including on wells owned by BP. In many cases, Mason says, BP employees were present while subcontractors faked the tests. Obviously, the systems failed and failed badly. BP violated the duty of exercising adequate quality controls over high-tech materials which caused the leaking happened. In addition, BP continually disregards safety and morality for profits. They are

The BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill was one of the worst spills occurred in the history of the oil industry because the way it was carried out and the way it occurred. The had affected the people worldwide it’s didn’t just affect the people who were onboard or the company because had effects on the environment, share prices were dropping, the company had to pay huge amount into the fines to the governments and also, they had to pay huge amount to clean the gulf water and the affected shore area. The total amount BP spend in fines was about the $56.4 billion. This spill was worse than the spill occurred in Exxon Valdez because it damaged the shoreline of four states threatening more than 65000 acres of land to be damaged. Over 8000 animals

Although oil rigs malfunction due to a variety of causes, in the case of the Deepwater Horizon explosion the cause was the result of the blowout preventers failing to deploy properly. They are supposed to deploy when mud, oil and any other substances get up the piping and make their way up to the platform. They are then at risk for catching fire. The blowout protectors are meant to keep the junk from making it all the way up the pipes. In this case, however, not only did the manual protectors fail to work but the emergency protectors failed as well. Unfortunately this isn’t unusual. Blowout preventers are actually a common cause of oil rig explosions. This may be the result of the testing requirements not being as strict as they once were. It is obvious how important it is that these regulations are re-strengthened. Oil rigs work by using a pipe to pump oil from miles below the ocean floor. Without strong safety requirements, malfunctions will happen. When malfunctions happen, leeks happen.

A major example of our failure to learn from the past was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which happened on 20 April 2010. The whole explosion which devastated the oil platform caused 11 deaths. These deaths could have been prevented if BP Oil, the operators of the platform, had only heeded the lessons of the past.

BP was met with severe criticism for the ecological impacts of the oil spill, as the environment of Gulf of Mexico was completely damaged from the spill. The spill did not only bring about pollution to the marine wildlife but it also destroyed Gulf’s fishing and tourism industries. Like the effects on the physical environment, the social and economic environments were also affected. The waters of the Gulf of Mexico were closed due to pollution from the oil spill. As a result, recreational and commercial fishing were banned. The state of Louisiana closest to the oil well was greatly affected by the incident but the effects were as far reaching as the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. Since fish, oysters and shrimps form an important

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened on April 20, 2010 on the Gulf of Mexico. A fire engulfed the Deepwater Horizon oil-drilling rig which killed 11 of the 126 workers. On April 22, 2010 a second explosion sunk the rig to the bottom of the ocean. There was a safety valve that was tried but didn’t work. Around 60,000 barrels of oil leaked into the ocean each day. Total 5 million barrels of oil leaked. The oil slick covered around 2,500 miles. To stop the oil from leaking they tried small submarines to flip a switch and a large metal box to cover the well. Neither of them worked. A relief well pumped mud and concrete to plug the leak. The well was plugged for good on September 19, 2010.

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

BP is one of the largest company producers in both oil and natural gas in the United States, venturing on exploration and discovery, Deepwater drilling and gas supply chains. On April 20, 2010, 11 men lost their lives after an explosion in the semi-submersible drilling on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig working on the Macondo exploration well for BP in the Gulf of Mexico. The well blowout and subsequent oil spill pumped 3.2 million barrels in the Gulf of Mexico the biggest marine disaster in US history. The fire burned for 36 hours before the rig sank, and the hydrocarbons leaked into the Gulf of Mexico before the well was closed and sealed. After the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a sea-floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days, until it was capped on July 15th 2010.