Literature Review

Phil Leitzell
CE170
8-30-10

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also known as the BP oil spill), is the largest marine oil

spill in the history of the oil industry. The spill occurred on April 20, 2010 after the Deepwater

Horizon oil rig exploded. The explosion killed 11 workers and released 4.9 billion barrels of oil

into the Gulf of Mexico,

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill had a profound impact on the environment and the

people living in the areas surrounding the Gulf of Mexico. The marine life in the Gulf were

greatly impacted by the oil spill. By August 13, 2010, 4,768 dead animals were collected as a

result of the oil spill. Many of the dolphins in the area were seen spewing oil out of their blow

holes and acting “drunk” because of petroleum toxicity and oxygen depletion. The oil spill also

affected the fishing industries located along the Gulf. About 1/3 of the fishing area in the Gulf

was off limits to fishermen due to the oil spill. The BP oil spill cost the fishing industry an

estimated $2.5 billion. The tourism industry was affected by the oil spill as well. Many people

had canceled their vacations to the areas affected by the spill, and the number of hotels booked

on beaches of the Gulf has reduced dramatically. It is expected that these economic impact on

tourism to the Gulf will last several years even though the oil leak has already been plugged. It

is estimated that over the next three years, the oil spill could cost the tourism industry $23

billion.
 The oil spill has caused health problems to people as well. The clean-up crews and the

local residents living in the coastal towns of the Gulf have both experiences side effects from the

oil spill. Headaches, dizziness, vomiting, nauseous, and chest pains were common symptoms.

Experts from the Department of Health are unsure how long these symptoms will last.

Several unsuccessful attempts were made to try to stop the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

One attempt was to close the blowout preventer valves using remote control underwater vehicles.

After this attempt failed, the workers tried to place a 280,000 lb containment dome over the

largest leak in the wellhead, and pipe the remaining oil to a storage tank on the surface.

However, this failed as well because methane hydrate crystals were formed when the leaking gas

combined with the cold ocean water thus blocking the opening at the top of the dome. Several

other unsuccessful attempts were made before the engineers finally came up with a solution to

block the oil spill.

The leak in the wellhead was finally contained by drilling relief wells to reduce the

pressure of the oil spewing out. Two relief wells were drilled in May costing BP around $100

million. On August 4th, after the leaking oil well was confirmed to have a reduction in pressure,

cement was pumped down to the oil well to seal the break in the pipe. However, BP officials are

unable to confirm if the oil leak is completely sealed. There are concerns that an increase in

pressure could cause the seal to break open. BP officials are continuing to watch the pipeline

carefully before declaring that the oil leak has been fixed.