Done by:
Ong Wei Sern
Sim Yew Chong
Tan Yan Wei
Ang Zheng Yong
Introduction

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, also
known as “BP Oil Spill” : The Gulf Of Mexico
in 2010
** BP- British multinational oil and gas company HQ in London
Largest accidental marine oil spill
>30% larger in volume than the “Ixtoc I” oil
spill
Total discharge: 210 million US gallons
Introduction

20 April 2010: High-pressure methane gas from
the well expanded into the drilling riser and rose
into the drilling rig
Drilling rig- Ignited and explode, engulfing the
platform, causing the historic oil spill
Failed efforts to contain flow
19 September 2010: Well capped and declared
sealed
Causes

 Flawed well design
 Poor management decisions
 Inadequate preparation
 Ignorant towards critical indicators
 Insufficient training
 Violation of federal regulations
Causes

Cement failure- Base of well containing oil and gas.
Allowing natural gas under huge pressure to shoot
onto drilling platform  EXPLOSION
Flawed Design:
Cement used to seal the bottom of well
 Failed to contain hydrocarbons within the reservoir as
they were designed to do
Allowing gas and liquids to flow up the production
casing.
Causes

Poor management decisions:
Rush to completion of the well
Huge financial pressure to cut costs and rush
the job
 The project: $50 million over budget
Behind schedule
Causes

Inadequate Preparation:
BP wellhead was fitted with a blowout
preventer (BOP) improperly for use during
emergency
 Failed to engage. Hydrocarbons shot up the
well at an uncontrollable rate and ignited,
causing a series of explosions on the rig
Causes

Ignorant towards Critical Indicators:
 Failure to recognise initial ominous signs
etc. a pipe called a riser- losing fluid
 BP ignored recommendations by Halliburton for more
centralizers (Claimed that the lack of centralizers
probably did not affect the cement)
 Flow of gas into the engine rooms through ventilation
system created potential for ignition
 Should have redirected the flow of flammable gas
Causes

Insufficient Training:
 Workers interpret pressure test wrongly
 Caused reports sent to be inaccurate
Violation of Federal Regulations:
 Required to:
(a) Operate in safe manner
(b) Take Measures to contain oil and gas
(c) Conduct Reliable tests of well pressures
(d) Notify of changes in well drilling plans
Causes

"The evidence show that BP put profits
before people, profits before safety and
profits before the environment,"
-Justice Department attorney Mike Underhill
Impacts-Economical

 Commercial and recreational fishing was affected
from Mississippi to Florida
 Tourism: Important to Gulf Coast states
Affected by cancelled vacations
 Jobs in the fishing, tourism and even oil industry are
in jeopardy
 Shrimp, crab and oyster farmers and harvesters now
only have contaminated seas and estuaries left
 2010-2013 Costs: Gulf Coast States  USD23 billion
Impacts-Social and Political

 Symptoms of nausea, dehydration, dizziness,
headaches, chest pains and vomiting
 The spill and related clean up released chemicals into
the environment
 Full health impact on the reason may not be known
for many years.
 BP describes itself as a “changed company” with a
shattered reputation
 BP lost its CEO, costed billions of dollars
Impacts-Environmental 1

 Oil washed up on shores, into wildlife refuges,
beaches, and seafood grounds
 16,000 total miles of coastline have been affected,
including the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama, and Florida
Impacts-Environmental 1

 Many of the areas have unacceptable levels of
contamination
 Over 8,000 animals (birds, turtles, mammals) were
reported dead just 6 months after the spill, including
many that are already on the endangered species list
Impacts-Environmental 2

 Signs of an oil-and-dispersant mix
were found under the shells of tiny
blue crab larvae
 Some types of spiders and other
insects became far less numerous
 Migratory birds carried chemicals from the spill as
far as Minnesota (From the Gulf of Mexico)
 Chronic exposure to toxic materials caused all sorts
of problems with immune
deficiencies and in some
cases even deformities
Map of Area Affected

Preventive measures

Searching for risks of oil spills +Assess
situation  Develop appropriate oil
spill response and crisis management
plans
Developed oil spill modelling systems
and capabilities
Preventive measures

Enhancing the environmental and
socio-economic data required in the
models: Help inform response planning
Conducting staff training in related
regions
Clean-up measures

Using dispersants- Breaks down oil
into smaller structures
Once oil in the sea is broken down to
smaller droplets
 Microbes will consume these smaller
droplets of oil
Danger: Absorbed by marine life, into
food chain.
Clean-up measures

Containment and skimming:
Buoyant booms floating and web below
surface
Keep oil from spreading out/
contaminating further
Easier to skim oil from surface
 Boats suck/scoop oil, into containment
tanks
Preventive measures

Searching for risks of oil spills +Assess
situation  Develop appropriate oil
spill response and crisis management
plans
Developed oil spill modelling systems
and capabilities
Clean-up measures

Using magnets- oil will be pumped
onto a boat treatment facility
Magnetic nanoparticles will be exposed
to the oil which will then stick to the oil
Filtration- With help of magnets to
separate oil and water
Clean-up measures

Biological Agents: (Reached shore)
Fertilisers spread over shoreline
(etc. Phosphorus/Nitrogen)
Foster microorganism growth
Break down oil into natural components
Clean-up measures

Sorbents:
Large sponges absorb oil from water
In-situ Burning:
Setting oil on fire
More effective
 But produces large amount of toxic gas
X Near coastal settlement area
Video: The BP Oil Spill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l
Y-PikuXTYY
Bibliography

 http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle800.do?categoryId=904896
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4&contentId=7083298
http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle800.do?categoryId=904892
2&contentId=7082610
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/21/tech/oil-spill-magnets
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oilspill/index.ssf/2013/04/as_third_anniversary_of_bp_oil.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10309001
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-26/bp-profit-pushroot-cause-of-gulf-spill-witness-says.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/science/earth/12spill.html
Bibliography

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/apr/20/deepwaterhorizon-key-questions-answered
 http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=706
4893
 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/science/earth/15spill.html?_r=0
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21548117
 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/bp-oil-spill-trial-beginsarticle-1.1272679
 http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-bp-oil-spill
 http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/Three-years-after-BP-oil-spill-newreport-rates-health-of-Gulf-of-Mexico-ecosystem-202213361.html
 http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/25/nation/la-na-bp-trial-20130226
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END===
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