What caused the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico?

The rig capsized and sank on the morning of April 22, rupturing the riser, through which drilling mud had been injected in order to counteract the upward pressure of oil and natural gas. Without any opposing force, oil began to discharge into the gulf.

What oil rig blew up in the Gulf?

rig Deepwater Horizon
On April 20, 2010, the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, operating in the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded and sank resulting in the death of 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon and the largest spill of oil in the history of marine oil drilling operations.

What caused the April 20 2010 oil rig explosion?

At approximately 7:45 pm CDT, on 20 April 2010, high-pressure methane gas from the well expanded into the marine riser and rose into the drilling rig, where it ignited and exploded, engulfing the platform.

How much oil was cleaned up in the Gulf?

In the BP Oil Spill, more than 200 million gallons of crude oil was pumped into the Gulf of Mexico for a total of 87 days, making it the biggest oil spill in U.S. history.

How did they clean up the BP oil spill?

In the case of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, clean-up workers treated the oil with over 1.4 million gallons of various chemical dispersants. Typically such large amounts are sprayed over the open ocean from an airplane or helicopter. It’s possible that life in the deep sea was exposed to the dispersant-oil mixture.

What caused the oil rig to explode?

One cause of oil rig explosions is a blowout. A blowout occurs when the oil or gas erupts from the well. In some cases, this is caused when the systems monitoring the pressure of the well have failed.

What caused the Gulf Oil Spill?

Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also called Gulf of Mexico oil spill, largest marine oil spill in history, caused by an April 20, 2010, explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig-located in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 41 miles (66 km) off the coast of Louisiana -and its subsequent sinking on April 22.

How many oil rigs are operating in the Gulf?

The North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico (United States) are home to many offshore rigs, totaling 184 rigs and 175 rigs , respectively as of January 2018. Offshore oil rigs enable producers to extract and process oil and natural gas through drilled wells.

Is BP to blame for the Gulf Oil Spill?

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said BP was mostly to blame for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster, which killed 11 people and spewed oil into the water for 87 days. Barbier attributed 67% of the fault to BP, 30% to Transocean, which owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, and 3% to Halliburton, the cement contractor.