Welcome To Oil Spill Gulf Of Mexico 2010 Information
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is a massive ongoing oil spill that is the largest offshore spill in U.S.
history with hundreds of millions of gallons spilled to date. The spill stems from a sea floor oil
gusher that resulted from the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion.
The explosion killed 11 platform workers and injured 17 others. The gusher is estimated to be
flowing at 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of crude oil per day. For comparison, this is an amount equal
to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill every one to two weeks. The exact flow rate is uncertain due
to the difficulty of installing measurement devices at that depth and is a matter of ongoing debate.
The resulting oil slick covers at least 2,500 square miles, fluctuating from day to day
depending on weather conditions. Scientists have also reported immense underwater plumes of
oil not visible at the surface. Experts fear that the spill will result in an environmental disaster,
with extensive impact already apparent on marine and wildlife habitats. The spill has also
damaged the Gulf of Mexico fishing and tourism industries. There have been a variety of efforts
to stem the flow at the wellhead. Crews have been working to protect hundreds of miles of
beaches, wetlands and estuaries along the northern Gulf coast, using skimmer ships, floating
containment booms, anchored barriers, and sand-filled barricades along shorelines.
The U.S. Government has named BP as the responsible party, and officials have
committed to hold the company accountable for all cleanup costs and other damage.
Since oil from the ruptured Deepwater Horizon began to gush into the Gulf of Mexico, BP has
skimmed or burned about 60 percent of the amount it promised regulators it could remove in a
single day. The disparity between what BP promised in its March 24 filing with federal regulators
and the amount of oil recovered since the April 20 explosion underscores what some officials
and environmental groups call a misleading numbers game that has led to widespread confusion
about the extent of the spill and the progress of the recovery.
