Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 2010, Essay Example

Abstract

The Beyond Petroleum organization which is also known as BP is one of the foremost international producers of oil and gas.  Beyond Petroleum has the responsibility of supplying its clients with energy for lighting and heating, combustible for transportation, lubricants in order to decrease the wear on engines and other petrochemical goods that are applied in the manufacture of everyday items (BP, 2015). The work of BP (2015), Popular Mechanics (2010) and Schliferstein (2013) were accessed in this research.

BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill of 2010

The leading petroleum organization in the world was conceived in England over one hundred years ago.  Beyond Petroleum presently employs more than eighty three thousand personal in thirty nations.  Beyond Petroleum has posted a net revenue that was greater than $16.86 billion in the initial quarter of 2013 (BP, 2015).

The BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak that took place in the Gulf of Mexico was recorded as one of the most substantial industrial disasters in history. A marine drilling rig that was designated as the Deepwater Horizon caught fire and exploded. The fire and the explosion resulted in numerous mortalities. In addition, the fire and the petrochemical explosion caused significant environmental damage (BP, 2015).

In addition, the Deepwater Horizon Oil catastrophe caused the livelihoods of those who reside along the Gulf Coast to be impacted.  The national support which was experienced by Beyond Petroleum has eroded and the organization has lost millions of dollars.  The catastrophic oil leak caused economic, social, health and environmental challenges that had not been previously experienced.  The outcomes of the BP Deepwater Oil spill continue to have repercussions almost five years later (BP, 2015).

Beyond Petroleum posts that they have five core values that manifest their mission. These five core values are: “Safety, Respect, Excellence, Courage and One Team” (BP, 2015).  In order to comprehend the manner by which BP is liable for this catastrophe, the events that caused the explosion must be explored (BP, 2015).

The BP Deepwater Horizon was an oil rig that was located in the Mississippi Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico.  The rig was nine years of age. The Deepwater Horizon Oil rig was a dynamically located, floating semi-submersible oil drilling platform that had the capacity of operating in waters that had a depth of up to 10,000 feet.  The drilling platform was constructed by Hyundai with the Transocean organization being the proprietor (BP, 2015).

The Deepwater Horizon was drilling for oil that was at a depth of 35, 050 feet and the ocean depth was approximately 5,100 feet.  The BP Deepwater Horizon was positioned at 41 miles south of the Louisiana a Coast.  Beyond Petroleum was the primary owner of the well which possessed a 65% interest.  The other interests in the Deepwater Horizon well were Anadarko Petroleum Corporation which owned a 25% interest and the MOEX offshore drilling organization which had a 10% interest in the well (BP, 2015).

The majority of the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform was located underwater.  In 2010, on April 20^th at approximately 9:45 pm, an elevated pressure methane gas stream expanded from the drilling rise and ascended to the drilling platform.  The elevated pressure methane gas stream cause a massive explosion that caused the entire drilling platform to ignite.  The methane gas explosion caused eleven mortalities and seventeen injuries.  The Deepwater Horizon Oil drilling platform was on fire for a day and a half until it submerged (BP, 2015).

The petrochemicals that were in the drilling riser continued to spew for almost three months.  The catastrophe was a result of the well failure which was ensued by a loss of hydrostatic administration of the well.  Consequently, there was a failure of the blowout prevention components of the well which facilitated the ejection of the hydrocarbons.  The blow out emergency equipment did not perform its primary function of sealing the well after the first explosion.  BP was held accountable for the catastrophe (BP, 2015).

The BP organization filed a number of lawsuits that were valued at more than $40 billion against the Organizations that participated in the construction of the Deepwater Horizon Oil well.  One of the contractors that was named in the lawsuit was Cameron International Corporation.  Cameroon International was a Fortune 500 organization that conducted the blow out prevention components for the Deepwater Horizon Oil well.  The blowout prevention device was perceived as one of the main culprits of the Deepwater Horizon Oil catastrophe (BP, 2015).

BP has had the responsibility of paying more than $14 billion for the clean-up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico in addition to paying more than $10 billion in damages to organization and residents of the surrounding environment.  There were more than 205.8 million gallons of petrochemical that were spewed from the Deepwater Horizon well shaft into the Gulf of Mexico.  The amount of oil that seeped into the Gulf of Mexico on a daily basis from the well was initially assessed at 62, 000 barrels (Popular Mechanics, 2010).

The amount of oil that leaked into the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster was assessed to be 1800% greater than the oil that was leaked during the Exxon Valdez accident that occurred in 1989.  The amount of oil that was leaking from the Deepwater Horizon oil shaft on a daily basis was equivalent to the quantity of oil that is consumed in the entire state of Rhode Island in one day (Popular Mechanics, 2010).

The total amount of oil that was leaked from the Deepwater Horizon Oil shaft was estimated at 95.6 million gallons of petroleum. This total is one quarter of the amount of petrochemicals that are consumed in the United States daily. There had been a total of 57, 239 square miles that were not accessible to fishing during the Deepwater Horizon Oil well catastrophe (Popular Mechanics, 2010).

A report has been emitted by the National Wildlife Foundation. This report states that the consequences of the Deepwater Horizon oil well catastrophe will have long lasting implications. There were more than 1,100 miles of coastline that were contaminated by the catastrophe.  Many areas of these coastline were suffering erosion prior to the accident.  The National Wildlife Foundation recommended that Beyond Petroleum pay stiff fines and that the proceeds from these fines be applied to funding sediment diversions and creating barrier islands.  There were more than 1,700 sea turtles affected by the catastrophe (Schliferstein, 2013).

These were the Kemps- Ridley turtles which are among the turtles at the top of the list of the most endangered species.  These turtles were isolated from their nesting grounds.  This is more than 300% the number of turtles that are normally isolated and unable to commute to other sea habitats.  BP has been compelled to donate more than $1 billion to the preservation of the turtle species that were affected by the oil catastrophe (Schliferstein, 2013).

There had been an assessed 650 dolphins that were killed as a result of the oil spill. The funds that have been contributed by Beyond Petroleum has substantially improved the living conditions of the surviving dolphins. There had been approximately 826 pelicans that were retrieved from the disaster zone. The numbers that succumbed to toxicity related deaths as a result of the oil catastrophe totalled to more than 577 pelicans.   Research has shown that there had been a slight change in the shrimp populations as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil catastrophe (Schliferstein, 2013).

There were a number of outcomes that resulted from the Deepwater Horizon Oil well disaster that Beyond Petroleum was not compelled to cover.  There were fishing areas in the cost that were devastated.  A number of people who were reliant on the commercial fishing industry were forced to look for other types of employment.  The tourism and the mental health of the residents along the coast where the oil contamination occurred was impacted.  Subsequent to hurricane Katrina, the Deepwater Horizon oil catastrophe caused many of the coastal residents to incur anxiety and depressive emotional states (Schliferstein, 2013).

Conclusion

The Deepwater Horizon Oil well catastrophe was the worst industrial disaster in history.  More than 1, 100 miles of coastline had been affected by the accident.  The implications of the Deepwater Horizon Oil incident continue to be felt five years after the event.  The lessons that could be learned are that the protection of the environment must be placed above the production of profits.

References

BP (2015). Deepwater Horizon accident and response. Beyond Petroleum.

Popular Mechanics (10 August 2010). The Deepwater Horizon spill by numbers. Popular Mechanics.

Schliferstein, M. (2 April 2013). National Wildlife Foundation says environmental effects from spill far from over. Nola Times Picayune.