Gulf and the Oil Spill

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Response

An oil spill can be defined as an accidental or deliberate dumping of oil or petroleum products into the ocean and its coastal waters, bays, and harbors, or onto land, or into rivers or lakes. Between one and ten million metric tons (one metric ton is 1000 kilograms) of oil are put into the oceans every year. The oil is released, most often, in small yet consistent doses from tankers, industry, or on shore waste disposal. The purpose of this review of information is to contribute a better understanding of the deep horizon spill and the Gulf of Mexico response. As the greasy waft of the great Deepwater Horizon oil spill reaches New Orleans and thick gobs of oil permeate Louisiana's bayous, Gulf Coasters are bracing for the second monster catastrophe to strike the region in five years. As the spill made landfall Friday, tensions between BP and Washington grew as cabinet chiefs raced to the scene, along with Navy boats and equipment, to take control of a relief effort that is rapidly evolving from a prevention response to preparations for a major cleanup stated (Patrick Jonsson 2010). An apparent well blowout caused the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20, killing 11 and injuring 17 of the 126-member crew. Thirty-six hours later, the rig sank, leaving a 5,000-foot "riser" pipe leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day from the bottom of the Mississippi Canyon 42 miles out to sea.

The massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill means large financial costs for BP – and potentially for other firms that had a role in failure of the deepwater rig. ( Mark Trumbull 2010) suggested that even as BP focuses on controlling the spill, investors are gauging liabilities that go well beyond the roughly $6 million per day the firm is spending on containment efforts – a number the...