GEOG 3EC3 Study Guide - Final Guide: Ixtoc I Oil Spill, Offshore Drilling, Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Lecture 16 – BP Oil Spill: April 20th, 2010: (Gulf of Mexico, off coast of Lousiana)
Event: Oil rig blowout + fire.
→ The Deepwater Horizon explosion
→ Offshore Drilling: slowly moving further from coastlines + deeper into sea-bed
→ Global Oil: 70% onshore, 30% offshore
→ Sedimentary rocks have oil
→ “audi Aaia = olds lagest podue toda
→ Safety Issues with Deep Offshore Exploration:
• 1) Distance to seabed.
• 2) Only ROVs can be sent.
• 3) Low temperatures—methane freezes in pipes = impedes flow = localized
pressure = explosions
• Blowout Preventer: system of valves to control pressure
• Many points where a spill can occur: drilling operation, platform, production spills,
off-loading, tanker, wellhead leaks
→ Ixtoc I Oil Spill (June, 1979): exploratory oil well suffered blowout, took 9 months to
cap, spilled more oil than BP
→ BP Deepwater Horizon Explosion @ Macondo Well
• Prior to Deepwater Horizon, BP had become more profit-oriented and overlooked
problems at rig (@1.5km deep)
• Transocean, rig operator; once had a good record but had increasing incidents
• Overall, no impact assessment or blowout intervention plan
• 11 crew member dead, 17 injured
• Causes:
▪ Casings not properly locked together, gas infiltrated well.
▪ Cement casings shifted (poor alignment).
▪ Tests inclusive/negative, continued tests which made things worse.
▪ Mud barrier removed too earlier.
▪ Blowout preventer failed.
• Rupture riser @ 1500 m deep.
• Relief wells several hundreds of metres beneath surface:
• Oil Spill Impacts:
▪ Contained with booms + dispersants
▪ Corexit = led to plumes (currents beneath water, density gradients that
worsen oil spread)
▪ In plumes 2-16% of oil
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
▪ Oil reached areas such as Tampa Bay
• Ecological Impacts:
▪ November 2010: 6814 dead animals found
▪ Mostly seabirds
▪ Fish died due to lack of oxygen
▪ Damage to corals
▪ Toxicity
▪ Deformities
▪ 8332 species affected
▪ 50x mortality
• Economic Impacts:
▪ Fisheries closed
▪ Tourism impacted
▪ Disrupted oil exploration
▪ DIRECT LOSS: $8.7 billion
▪ INDIRECT LOSS: US $22.7 billion
▪ Accounted for:
• 23% evaporated
• 29% chemically dispersed
• 17% directly recovered
• 8% burnt/skimmed
• Remaining 23%?
• July 12th: sealed well successfully
• Liabilities & Aftermath:
▪ 2011: BP filled a US $40 billion lawsuit against…
• rig operator (Transocean)
• cementer (Halliburton)
• manufacturer of BOP (Cameron)
▪ 2014: BP found negligent by US courts—60% responsibility to BP (under
Clean Water Act)
▪ $18.7 billion settlement
▪ Total costs to BP: $54 billion
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Policies:
▪ 2010: Obama declares freeze on issue of new offshore oil drilling permits
(overturned by US courts)
▪ 2010: National Energy Board of Canada – requires relief wells in Arctic
▪ United States: offshore drilling is now controlled by 3 departments (not
1)
• More oversight
• The Future of Offshore Drilling: Arctic
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Lecture 16 bp oil spill: april 20th, 2010: (gulf of mexico, off coast of lousiana) Offshore drilling: slowly moving further from coastlines + deeper into sea-bed. Audi a(cid:396)a(cid:271)ia = (cid:449)o(cid:396)ld(cid:859)s la(cid:396)gest p(cid:396)odu(cid:272)e(cid:396) toda(cid:455) Ixtoc i oil spill (june, 1979): exploratory oil well suffered blowout, took 9 months to cap, spilled more oil than bp. July 12th: sealed well successfully: liabilities & aftermath, 2011: bp filled a us billion lawsuit against rig operator (transocean, cementer (halliburton, manufacturer of bop (cameron, 2014: bp found negligent by us courts 60% responsibility to bp (under. Lecture 17 & 18 chernobyl: april 25th-26th, 1986: (ukraine under ussr) Impacts of the disaster: deaths + sickness from acute radiation syndrome, consequences of fallout/precipitate. The kyshtym disaster (september, 1957): cooling system in tank with radioactive waste failed leading to a chemical explosion: evacuated 10 000 people, people were not told what happened, rank 6. Mikail gor(cid:271)at(cid:272)he(cid:448): (cid:858)glas(cid:374)ost(cid:859) = freedo(cid:373) of spee(cid:272)h + (cid:272)ultural-openness.