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BP Oil Spill

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Introduction

In response to question one of unit two, I will discuss the key facts and issues of the BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill.

Discussion

In 2010, the most catastrophic event in the history of marine oil drilling occurred when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico (Crandall et. al., 2014). The explosion resulted in the death of eleven employees and seriously injured seventeen additional employees on board the rig. In addition to the casualties, the amount of oil spilled into the ocean neared five million barrels. The total volume of oil spilled exceeded two hundred million gallons (DoSomething.org, n.d.). The spill affected over sixteen thousand miles of coastline in the Gulf of Mexico. The spill did lasting damage …show more content…
According to the report, the cement meant to create a seal at the head of the boring site did not properly seal. This resulted in a leak of oil as well as methane gas that rose to the surface. In the same area of the site the safety valves designed to stop the leaks also failed. The testing performed by the employees to ensure a seal was achieved was not properly read. The testing displayed the leak according to the investigation, consequently, the employees interpreted the results incorrectly.

The results of the improper readings of the pressure tested resulted in the missed opportunity to identify the leak sooner (Mullins, 2010). A change in pressure was noted nearly an hour prior to the explosion if it had been caught the explosion could have possibly been prevented. A second safety valve failed just minutes before the explosion. According to the report, a mixture of sediment and oil began spilling on to the surface of the Deepwater Horizon rig, the staff immediately attempted to close the safety valve but were …show more content…
The separator was designed to remove the gas from the sediment. The previous failures resulted in an enormous amount of sediment and gas being pushed into the separator creating an overloaded device. The extremely flammable gas quickly built up within the Deepwater Horizon rig. The alarms designed to alert the staff of the build-up of gas failed to sound, moreover, the safety measures designed to contain the airborne gases also failed to close. The final safety measure available on board the Deepwater Horizon also failed to operate as designed. The safety valve in place to prevent the blowback of the sediment had an automatic feature that should have taken over in this event. It was determined following the incident that the two automatic features failed, the battery was depleted on one and there was a faulty switch on the other.

Conclusion

The events of April 20, 2010, involving the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig could have been prevented if the pressure readings had been interpreted correctly earlier in the day (Mullins, 2010). The rig was displaying abnormalities that should have been addressed rather than dismissed as an inaccurate reading by the staff on board. There were several safety measures in place that should have prevented the explosion, consequently, they all failed. This is indicative of

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