GEOG 3EC3 Study Guide - Final Guide: Ixtoc I Oil Spill, Offshore Drilling, Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

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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 Aaia = olds lagest podue toda
Safety Issues with Deep Offshore Exploration:
1) Distance to seabed.
2) Only ROVs can be sent.
3) Low temperaturesmethane 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
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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 courts60% responsibility to BP (under
Clean Water Act)
$18.7 billion settlement
Total costs to BP: $54 billion
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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
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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.

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