Aftermath of Oil Spills: Deep Water Horizon

ES 624 Term Project

By

TUSHAR CHAUHAN (150040069)

SHOHAM TEBERIWAL (150040116)

ADITYA PANDEY (150040117)

Under the Supervision of

PROF. MUNISH KUMAR CHANDEL

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, BOMBAY

POWAI- 400076, INDIA

09, NOVEMBER, 2018

Contents
Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3

Cause of Oil Spills .................................................................................................................... 4

Types of Oil Spills .................................................................................................................... 5

Deepwater Horizon .................................................................................................................. 6

Fate of Contaminants .............................................................................................................. 8

Deep Water Horizon: Where did the contaminants go? ...................................................... 9

Environment Impact .............................................................................................................. 11

Remediation of Oil Spills ....................................................................................................... 13

Deepwater Horizon Remediation Strategies ....................................................................... 15

References ............................................................................................................................... 17
Introduction

The release of liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the marine ecosystem(or the
environment for that matter) due to factors such as human intervention (which maybe
intentional or not) and which leads to pollution is known as an oil spill. Oil Spills are usually
associated with marine oil spills, where the oil is released into the coastal waters or the ocean,
however spills may also occur on land. The release of such liquid petroleum hydrocarbons
could be from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells; it could also contain
derivative products like gasoline, diesel and their by-products. Other sources could be heavier
fuels used by large ships such as bunker fuel or maybe sources of waste oil. Oil spills could be
an accident that originates in the oil platforms, refineries, or oil tankers or in a process that
cleans the tanks in the ocean. Oil spills can have disastrous consequences for society;
economically, environmentally, and socially. The oil when it reaches the coast leaves a
profound impact on the environment, be it the sandy beaches, rocky shores, estuaries or the
remains in water to be finally deposited on the bottom of the sea. If the oil spills penetrate into
the body of birds and mammals, it can reduce their insulating ability, could make them more
vulnerable to the fluctuations of the temperature and even less buoyant in the water. Any
organism who is affected by an oil spill, depending on its nature and life cycle and sensitivity
to pollution will cope up from the effect accordingly. Oil spill can also cause an indirect impact
on other organisms who are not directly affected by the spill due to alterations in the community
structure, food cycle, and other interactions within each other such as grazing, predation and
competitive dynamics of coexistence. The total damage caused by oil spills depend on a lot of
factors and thus differs on the basis of chemical composition of oil, physical characteristics of
the area which is affected and the clean up methodology applied.

Cleanup of an oil spill is a difficult process and the recovery depends on a lot of many
factors such as the type and amount of oil spilled, types of shorelines, estuaries, beaches
involved and also on the temperature of the water which affects evaporation and
biodegradation. Depending on these parameters it may be take weeks, months or even years in
the clean up process of oil spills. An oil spill can be a few gallons to millions of gallons.
 Fig 1: Deep Water Horizon Water Spill (DWH)

Cause of Oil Spills

Natural causes: Sometimes oil spills can occur due to natural causes like oil may seep
out from the bottom of oceans when sedimentary rocks degrade. This is a natural process that
can occur at the bottom of an ocean floor.

Human Causes: Oil spills can be caused by various man made reasons like negligence
and lack of awareness. Sometimes the officials do not conduct proper risk mitigation
evaluations to save time and time that leads to such disasters. It could also include factors like
a leakage in the storage or transportation process and poor maintenance of oil vessels. Lack of
proper technology is another major cause. Sometimes an accident on the offshore site (which
maybe intentional or not) could lead to oil spill.
Types of Oil Spills

Oil Spills are classified on the basis of types of oils. There are five classes of oil: A, B,
C, D and non-petroleum; based on this oil spills are of following five types:

Class A: It is light in density and spreads easily. This is the most toxic oil and has a
characteristic strong pungent smell. This type of oil soaks into the soil and easily mixes with
water. In water, class A oils disperse readily but affect aquatic life in the upper water column.
Crude oil, jet fuel and gasoline come under class A oil. This adversely affects the marine life
and humans due to toxic components of gasoline like benzene, a known carcinogen, and
hexane, which can damage nervous system.

Class B: It is less toxic than compared to class A oil. These are non-sticky oils which can cause
long term contamination and are highly inflammable. They leave a film on surfaces, but the
film will dilute and disperse if flushed vigorously with water. Kerosene, heating oil and low
quality crude oil come under this category.

Class C: It is thick and heavy oil that do not penetrate or dilute into water and soil quickly.
They produce a sticky film on the surface and cause severe contamination. It is especially
detrimental to wildlife, such as fur-bearing marine mammals and waterfowl because it produces
such a sticky film, a class C oil spill can severely contaminate intertidal zones, leading to
expensive, long-term cleanups. Variants of crude oil, bunker B and bunker C oil come under
this category.

Class D: These are the least toxic oils that harden when heated. The cleaning up of this oil is
impossible. The biggest environmental concern posed by class D oil occurs if the oil is heated
and hardens on a surface, making cleanup nearly impossible. Solid soils are class D soils.

Non petroleum: It is a thin type of oil that penetrates into the soil and water easily and cause
severe damage. . Non-petroleum oils coat wildlife and can cause death due to suffocation or
dehydration. They are slow to break down and easily penetrate soil, causing long-lasting
damage to an affected area. Synthetic oils derived from animal and plant fat comes under this
category.
 Fig 2: Oil Spills Type,
Source: http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-spills/oil-spills/oil-types.html

Deepwater Horizon

British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon Spill, also referred to as the Gulf of Mexico oil
spill is the largest marine oil spill that occurred on April 20, 2010 by an oil rig explosion in the
BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil well, located 5,000 feet below the ocean’s surface and extended
approximately 18,000 feet (5,486 metres) into the rock. . It was located in the Gulf of Mexico,
approximately 41 miles (66 km) off the coast of Louisiana, which eventually sank on April 22.
The accident occured due to a surge of natural gas which blasted through a concrete core (that
was supposedly used to seal the well for later use). As the natural gas released by the fracture
of the core, it traveled up the Deepwater rig’s riser to the platform, where it ignited, killing 11
workers and injuring 17 of the total 126 workers on board. This $560 million rig was owned
and operated by an offshore-oil-drilling company Transocean and leased by oil company BP.

It burned for 36 hours, combusting the 700,000 gallons of oil that were on board and
leaving a trail of smoke over 30 miles long. The oil flowed for a total number of 87 days. The
volume of oil escaping the damaged well—originally estimated by BP to be about 1,000 barrels
per day to 5000 barrels per day—was thought by U.S. government officials to have peaked at
more than 60,000 barrels per day. By the time the well was capped on July 15, 2010 (87 days
later), an estimated 3.19 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf. According to the images
taken by the satellite, it was estimated that the spill directly affected about 180,000 sq. kms of
the ocean that is comparable to the area of states like Andhra Pradesh (162,970 sq. kms)and
Karnataka (191,791 sq. kms). By early June 2010, oil had washed up on 125 miles coastline of
Louisiana and along the coastlines of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi. Oil sludge started to
appear in the Intracoastal Waterway and on Pensacola Beach and the Gulf Islands National
Seashore. By October the oil reached Texas. Oil could be found on the shores of all five Gulf
states and was responsible for death of many birds, fish, and reptiles. As of July 2011, about
491 miles (790 km) of coastline in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida were
contaminated by oil and a total of 1,074 miles (1,728 km) had been oiled since the spill began.

Fig 3: Surface slick migration of DWH spill, Source: DWH-NRDA (2015).

As of December 2012, 339 miles (546 km) of coastline remain subject to evaluation
and/or cleanup operations. Other than this, it also had a large impact on the underwater due to
large amount of dissolved oil and gases. According to a report by NOAA published in 2010,
half of the oil remains below the surface, which means about 100 MN US gallons remained in
the Gulf. In fact in January 2011, tar balls, oil sheen trails, fouled wetlands marsh grass and
coastal sands were still evident. This subsurface oil remained offshore and in fine silts.

The cause of the oil spill were sheer carelessness and complacency that led to such a
heavy impact on the Gulf, its inhabitants, and the workers on the rig. Lack of proper technology
in building well designs with proper barriers to gas flow due to strict deadlines and budget
constraints led to this catastrophe. Something that could have been easily prevented became
the infamous disaster due to technical failures like not using sufficient number of centralizers
to prevent channeling during the cement process and failure to run a cement bond log to
evaluate effectiveness of the cement job. The Gulf Coast Claim Facility, set up in affiliation
with the US government to pay for the various costs arising from the oil spill received over
500,000 claims. The economic losses also extended to the thousands of coastal small businesses
like livelihood of fishermen, shrimpers, oystermen and all those dependent in whole or part on
fishing or tourism. Between the energy, fishing, shrimping and tourism industries, the Gulf
region lost an estimated 250,000 jobs in 2010. It costed British Petroleum around $65 billions.

Fate of Contaminants

The contaminants of a spill goes through natural mechanisms such as: weathering,
evaporation, oxidation, biodegradation, emulsification. These mechanisms are different in
marine versus freshwater environments. The impact of a spill gets severe in standing water
bodies.
1. Weathering: Spilled oil breaks down after undergoing a series of chemical and
physical changes and become heavier than water. Waves may break the slick into
droplets which gets dispersed throughout the water column.
2. Evaporation: The lighter or volatile substances (eg. kerosene, gasoline) in the oil
mixture evaporates and leaves behind the heavier components such as vegetable oils,
animal fats which may sink to the bottom or disperse.
3. Oxidation: It occurs when oil combines with oxygen to produce water soluble
compounds. It only affects the edges of oil slicks.
4. Biodegradation: Some microorganisms such as bacteria feed on oil hydrocarbons
and can significantly reduce the oil. Biodegradation works best in warm
 environments. Addition of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus accelerates the
process.
5. Emulsification: The mixture of oil and water is termed as emulsion. It is formed by
wave action. It impedes the cleaning process and weathering action. The emulsion can
exist in two forms: oil-in-water and water-in-oil. The water-in-oil emulsions are also
termed as “Chocolate Mousse”. They are formed when water traps inside viscous oil
due to strong wave action. They can remain in environment for months or years. Oil
and water emulsions sinks and disappear from the surface which gives a visual
illusion that the contaminants are gone and threat is ended.

Fig 4: Natural processes affecting the contaminants of spill,

Source: (Kingston, 2002)

Deep Water Horizon: Where did the contaminants go?

Large volumes of oil emerged on the surface after the Deepwater Horizon Explosion.
The oil spreads on the sea surface under the influence of surface tension and gravity to form
slick which has a thickness of less than 1mm. The slick thickness varies depending on the
characteristics of oil, spill response actions and the influence of surrounding factors. It was a
challenge to find the deep plume coming out and to observe the changes in its composition as
a result of physical and biological processes. The oil was released from MC252 well. It was a
type A- Louisiana Light sweet crude oil. It was crude low in sulfur and high in gasoline/
kerosene fractions. The oil fraction of the blowout stream was dispersed into micro to
microscopic oil droplets ( approx. 10µm). The fate of the contaminants depends on the size
distribution of these droplets. The oil rises as it has a lower density than seawater. The
upward movement of these droplets is relatively higher for larger droplets as smaller or
microscopic droplets have a tendency to coalesce to form bigger droplets. The degradation by
physical and biological processes is more for smaller droplets.

Fig 5: Fate of contaminants in DWH spill

Source: (Thibodeaux et al., 2011)

Initial research suggested that the plume mostly contained water soluble components.
This means that aqueous dissolution played an important role in the formation of deep plume
while the fate of insoluble petroleum constituents were initially controlled by other processes.
The concentrations of cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) was found up to 189 ppb and
toxic PAH concentrations extended upto at least 13 KM from wellhead.
Petroleum mono-aromatics, gaseous hydrocarbons, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and
xylenes were also released in the water column. The total amount of HCs was estimated to
equal 1.7 x 10^8 Kg. Hydrocarbons were dispersed over a large area and dissolved benzene
was found at potentially toxic concentrations. It was suggested that the increase in less water
soluble hydrocarbons in deep waters was caused due to the application of dispersants at the
leaking wellhead.

Gong et al. (2014) opined that fate of contaminants in an oil spill depends on factors
such as salinity content, oil properties, concentration of oil, organic matter and sediment
particle size. The sorption and desorption of oil droplets by sediments play an important role
in remediation. The dispersants affect these processes and formation of suspended particles.
Hence, these processes are important to design effective remediation strategies.

Fig 6: Surface burning of spill slick

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161219161557.htm

Environment Impact

Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) of concentration levels around 189 ppb were

found just after the spill for at least several months. These chemical are carcinogenic and
pose various health risks to humans and marine life. Additionally, the microbes utilises
oxygen to degrade the oil. As a result, the oxygen levels go very low in the vicinity of spill.
High levels of methane can potentially suffocate marine life and dead zones are created
where oxygen is depleted.

Marine mammals are quite sensitive to oil spills as they have large size, are long lived
species, produces few offsprings that require longer periods of gestation, care and sexual
maturation. 10 times more than normal number of dead dolphins babies were found on the
shorelines of Mississippi and Alabama By 2013, over 650 dolphins were found stranded in
the oils pill area. More than 1700 strandings of endangered sea turtles were recorded after the
spill. Seabirds are highly susceptible to oil and were the most number of vertebrates found
dead after the spill. Field studies of population and experimental studies of individuals were
two approaches that were used to study the DWH oil spill effects on birds.

It was found that about 2100 Km of shorelines were affected by the spill. Oil exposure
caused detrimental effects on salt marsh plants. Bonny Schumaker, former NASA physicist in
2013 opined that there is a “dearth of marine life” in a radius 30 to 50 miles around the point
of spill. The researchers also found that the oil on the bottom of seafloor did not seem to be
degrading. The clumping of oil around the suspended sediments took place in the water
column. This resulted in an “underwater rain of oily particles”. This phenomenon was called
a “dirty blizzard”. As a result, the oil could remain in the food chain for a long time.

DWH spill caused major harm to fish and fisheries. It was found that fish caught by
fishermen had unusual fin lesions and skin ulcers. The lesions were signals of a damaged
immune system caused by exposure to toxic contaminants from DWH spill. The dispersants
Corexit, were released underwater in unprecedented amounts to increase the rate of
biodegradation. But it is believed that the dispersants made the oil more toxic. Among
humans, mostly workers who were involved in the clean up process were affected by the
spill.

Fig 7: Died dolphins found on the coast, Source: https://www.nature.com/news/deepwater-

horizon-oil-spill-linked-to-gulf-of-mexico-dolphin-deaths-1.17609
 Fig 7: Toxicology of DWH spill Source: DWH NRDA 2015

Remediation of Oil Spills

There are several strategies exist for cleaning up oil spills. We can break them down to two
separate group of major and minor strategies involved in cleaning of oil spills. The major oil
spill remediation strategies are: -

Bioremediation: This involves the use of microorganisms to break down or remove oil.
Sometimes bioremediation accelerators are used to fasten up the process of bioremediation. An
example of a bioremediation accelerators would be any oleophilic, hydrophobic chemical,
which bonds to both soluble and insoluble hydrocarbons. The bioremediation accelerator acts
as a driving agent deep within the water and also on the surface, thereby forming gel-like
agglomerations on the surface of the water. These bacteria break down the hydrocarbons into
water and carbon dioxide, and can be especially important in degrading aromatic compounds
and alkenes.

Dispersants can be used to dissipate oil slicks. A dispersant is either a non-surface active
polymer or a surface-active substance added to a suspension, usually a colloid, to improve the
separation of particles and to prevent settling or clumping. They can rapidly disperse large
amounts of certain oil types from the sea surface by breaking the oil into smaller droplets that
can disperse into the water. They will cause the oil slick to break up and form water-soluble
micelles that are very diluted. The oil is then effectively spread throughout a larger volume of
water inside the ocean rather than just the ocean surface from where the oil was dispersed.

Solidifying: Solidifiers are composed of tiny, floating pellets, and hydrophobic polymers that
both adsorb and absorb. They clean up oil spills by changing the physical properties of the oil
from liquid to a solid-like material that floats on water. Such solid-like materials are then
insoluble in water, and so the removal of the solidified oil is easily done. Solidifiers are
relatively non-toxic to aquatic wildlife with respect to dispersants and some bioremediation
measures. The parameters important in determining the speed of solidification of oil are the
viscosity and thickness of the oil layer as well as the surface area of the oil.

There are also a few minor strategies that are very rarely used, or have a very limited impact in
controlling oil spills. These are: -

1. Controlled burning is when the oil on the surface of the ocean is set ablaze to reduce
the amount of oil in water. This can only be done for freshly spilled oil however. It is
also very dangerous as the fire can spread very rapidly subject to the waves and winds,
and it can also cause a lot of air pollution. Hence, this is only tried out in low wind and
in really particular situations.
2. Booms and Skimmers: An oil skimmer is a device that is designed to remove oil
floating on a liquid surface. Booms are used to contain the spread of oil in the ocean
surface by encircling the oil spill area. Calm waters are a must at all times during the
implementation of this strategy.
3. Vacuum and centrifuge: Oil can be sucked up along with the water, and then a
centrifuge can be used to separate the oil from the water. However, the efficiency of
this method is subject to the quality of the machines being used, and it can be a terribly
slow process as well.
4. Watch and wait: in some cases, oil may naturally dissipate and reduce in volume on
the surface of the ocean. Also, in certain wetlands and wildlife sensitive regions, it
might be better to not adopt strategies that can leave a long-term impact on the region
and destabilize the flora and fauna there.
Deepwater Horizon Remediation Strategies

The topmost priority after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was containing the leak and
preventing the leaked oil from reaching the shoreline. A sealing cap was fixed. thereby
preventing the continuous leakage of the oil from the Macondo well which had blown out
previously. This was the first task achieved after the oil spill took place.

After that, mechanical booms and skimmers were used to contain the oil spill and skim
the oil from the surface of the sea so as to prevent the oil from flowing throughout the ocean
and maybe even ashore. Using data on flow rate and other parameters from before, scientists
tried to predict the volume of the oil spill as well as where the oil went exactly.

It was decided that dispersants would be applied to contain the damage being done by
the oil spill. It is worth noting that even by then, it was fairly well known even by then that
dispersants could cause significant damage to aquatic life in the ocean. EPA-approved
dispersants Corexit 9500A and 9572A were applied. Approximately 80 lakh litres of
dispersants were applied to the surface and the wellhead. Dispersant was added to lower the
interfacial tension between the oil and the water and thereby reducing the size of oil droplets
formed.

Corexit contains 2-butoxyethanol, organic sulfonate, propylene glycol majorly, along

with a few other compounds in smaller quantities. 2-Butoxyethanol is known to be
carcinogenic and was identified as the causal agent in the health problems experienced by
cleanup workers after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. According to a study, the use of Corexit
during the oil spill cleanup caused many health disorders among the people involved in the
cleanup process, as well as destroyed the natural flora and fauna in the deep ocean. As a result,
the Corexit lines of dispersants have been banned in several nations.

For 4 year, until 2014, quite a bit of work was still being done as a part of the cleanup
process. Cleanup workers used mechanical booms to contain the spread of oil, and used
skimmers to reduce the volume of oil on the ocean surface. Sorbents were also used to absorb
the oil in the ocean in a sponge like material which could then be thrown away.

Fig 8: Cleanup campaign going for DWH, Source: CNN.com

(EPA, 1999)(Atlas & Hazen, 2011; Beyer, Trannum, Bakke, Hodson, & Collier, 2016)
References

Atlas, R. M., & Hazen, T. C. (2011). Oil biodegradation and bioremediation: A tale of the two worst
spills in U.S. history. Environmental Science and Technology, 45(16), 6709–6715.
https://doi.org/10.1021/es2013227
Beyer, J., Trannum, H. C., Bakke, T., Hodson, P. V., & Collier, T. K. (2016). Environmental effects of
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: A review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 110(1), 28–51.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.06.027
EPA. (1999). Understanding Oil Spills and Oil Spill Response - Ch 5: Wildlife And Oil Spills 5,
(December).
Kingston, P. F. (2002). Long-term Environmental Impact of Oil Spills Introduction: Origin and Nature
of Oil. Spill Science & Technology Bulletin, 7(02), 53–61. Retrieved from https://ac.els-
cdn.com/S1353256102000518/1-s2.0-S1353256102000518-main.pdf?_tid=b81283af-98a6-
49e0-8c8e-10b94d798aad&acdnat=1520686956_5418ce2eb4e1816d6d0eb33af139e5ad
Thibodeaux, L. J., Valsaraj, K. T., John, V. T., Papadopoulos, K. D., Pratt, L. R., & Pesika, N. S. (2011).
Marine Oil Fate: Knowledge Gaps, Basic Research, and Development Needs; A Perspective
Based on the Deepwater Horizon Spill. Environmental Engineering Science, 28(2), 87–93.
https://doi.org/10.1089/ees.2010.0276
https://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/10/us/gulf-oil-spill/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill