Summary- In 2017, an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was considered to be the largest in the U.S since the 2010 blowout at BP Plc's Macondo well that sank the Deepwater Horizon rig and killed 11 individuals.
- 7,950 to 9,350 barrels of oil were released October 11 to October 12, 2017. - It occurred from subsea infrastructure about 40 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana. - According to the article, this oil spill "would make it the largest spill in more than seven years." - "The LLOG spill was triggered by a fracture in a flowline jumper located on the sea floor." - The federal agency which regulates offshore energy and mineral extraction, also known as BSEE, "started a five-member panel investigation into the cause of the spill." - The article also gives information about how the "2010 blowout and explosion at the Deepwater Horizon ultradeep-sea drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana left 11 workers dead and set off the worst offshore oil; spill in the U.S." |
2017: Gulf Coast Oil Spill May be Largest Since 2010 BP DisasterFacts- There was a 2010 blowout at BP Plc's Macondo that sank the Deepwater Horizon.
- Eleven individuals died on the oil spilled. - Fowler exemplified how "the subsea system affected by the fracture was shut in when this occurred. It reduced the oil flowing into the Delta House floating production facility and cutting its output to around 57,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day from more than 90,000 before the spill." - The Delta House platform, floating in 4,5000 feet of water, came online in April 2015 with a peak capacity of 100,000 barrels a day of oil and 240 million cubic feet a day of natural gas. |
Key Terms- Oil: A viscous liquid derived from petroleum, especially for use as a fuel or lubricant.
- Mineral extraction: Crushing and separating ore into valuable substances or waste by any of a variety of techniques. - Magnitude: The great size or extent of something. - Deepwater Horizon: Oil spill of 2010, also called Gulf of Mexico oil spill of 2010, 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. |
Opinion
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon in either oceans or land. Throughout time, oil found in the marine ecosystem has been increasing a lot since the blowout and oil spill on the Deepwater Horizon. Unfortunately, oil spills have been bringing numerous disadvantages to not only humans but also marine species. One of the disadvantages is that oil creates water pollution and it kills multiple species that live in that part of the ocean. Species, such as fish, die because they digest food that contains oil. Another disadvantage, in this case for humans, is that it can be expensive in order to clean this oil out of the ocean and prevent more species to die. Besides chemical dispersants, one method for cleaning up ocean oil spills is booms and skimmers which consist of booms containing the oil so that the skimmers can collect it. If we, humans, do not do something about it, oil will still be in the ocean and marine deaths will increase.
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