Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Oil spill in the Gulf - the explosion on "Deep Horizon"

Around 10 p.m., on the 20th April 2010, an explosion occurred on the "Deep Horizon" oil drilling platform, which resulted in the worst environmental disaster ever caused by crude oil - the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

• Shortly before the accident, the crew of the "Deep Horizon" had almost completed a borehole at a depth of around 5,500 meters. A so-called blowout occurred when the pressure in the “Mississippi Canyon Block 252” borehole rose sharply. Large amounts of oil, gas and drilling mud escaped under high pressure. As a result, the natural gas ignited and set the drilling platform on fire. Despite intensive attempts to extinguish it, the platform could not be saved. Two days later, on Jan. April 2010, it sank in the Gulf of Mexico, huge amounts of petroleum streamed into the sea for a long time. 115 people from the rig crew were rescued, and eleven more were killed - probably due to the explosion.
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• A few weeks before the accident on the "Deep Horizon", numerous natural gas ingresses occurred, the frequency of which was noticeable. A short time before the explosion on the drilling platform, such a large amount of natural gas got into the borehole that an emergency stop of all hot work on "Deep Horizon" was ordered. On the part of one of the platform operators, BP, the risk that could arise from natural gas ingress for the platform was classified as "negligible".
• But the authorities also played their part in causing the disaster. That was the opinion of the national supervisory authority - at that time still under the Names Minerals Management Service - not necessary to develop an emergency plan to protect against accidents with this type of impact. This was justified by the fact that a massive oil leak as a result of an accident was viewed as "unlikely to impossible".

The consequences of the oil spill on the sea and the coast 

• Since the drilling site was in an area that had animal sanctuaries, the effects of oil pollution were particularly pronounced here. The "Pass a Loutre" wildlife sanctuary, which is home to large populations of water birds, was particularly hard hit.


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• In the attempt to remove the oil spill through controlled burning, there was - in addition to the oil spill - considerable air pollution. With this measure, many of the toxic substances in the oil remained in the sea and continued to find their way into the food chain.
• After reaching coastal regions and islands, the oil spill contaminated countless shorebirds. It also touched animals living in the water such as sea turtles, fish and dolphins.
• In the months of May and June 2010 it was found that the oxygen content in the water had decreased by almost a third. In contrast, the proportion of methane in the water was extremely high.
• A fishing ban was introduced on 2. June 2010 imposed on both the Florida coast and the Mississippi estuary. Shortly afterwards, the US health department announced that over 70 people had suffered from illness from contact with the oil spill.

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