In pursuit of oil, a man goes into the tundra, climbs mountains and conquers sea bottom. But oil does not always give up without a fight, and as soon as a person loses his vigilance, “black gold” turns into a real black death for all living things. This happened quite recently in the Gulf of Mexico, where the ultra-modern oil platform DeepWater Horizon dealt a crushing blow to nature and human pride.
Explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform: an easy way to destroy the environment
An object: oil platform DeepWater Horizon, 80 km off the coast of Louisiana (USA), Gulf of Mexico.
An ultra-deepwater oil drilling platform has been leased by BP to develop the promising Macondo field. The length of the platform reached 112 m, width - 78 m, height - 97.4 m, it went 23 meters under water and had a mass of over 32 thousand tons.
Victims: 13 people, 11 of them died during the fire, another 2 died during the liquidation of the consequences. 17 people were injured varying degrees gravity.
Source: US Coast Guard
Causes disasters
U major disasters there is no single reason, which was confirmed by the explosion oil platform DeepWater Horizon. This accident was the result the whole chain violations and technical malfunctions. Experts say it was only a matter of time before a platform disaster occurred.
It is interesting that several parallel investigations into the causes of the disaster were carried out, which led to different conclusions. Thus, the report made by BP indicates only 6 main causes of the accident, and main reason accident named human factor. A more authoritative report made by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Resources Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) and the US Coast Guard already names 35 main reasons, and 21 of them are blamed entirely on BP.
So who is to blame for the DeepWater Horizon explosion and subsequent environmental disaster? The answer is simple - BP, which was chasing profit, and in this pursuit neglected basic safety rules and deep-sea drilling technologies. In particular, the well cementing technology was violated, and the specialists who arrived to analyze the cement were simply kicked out of the drilling site. Were also disabled important systems control and security, so no one knew what was really going on under the ocean floor.
The result was an explosion and fire on the platform, a colossal oil spill and the title of one of the largest environmental disasters in the entire history of civilization.
Chronicle of events
Problems on the platform began almost from the first day of its installation, that is, from the beginning of February 2010. The well was drilled in a hurry, and the reason is simple and banal: the DeepWater Horizon platform was leased by BP, and every day it cost half a million (!) dollars!
However, the real problems began in the early morning of April 20, 2010. The well was drilled, a depth of just over 3,600 meters below the bottom was reached (the depth of the ocean in this place reaches one and a half kilometers), and it remained to complete the work of strengthening the well with cement in order to reliably “lock in” the oil and gas.
This process in a simplified form goes like this. Special cement is fed into the well through the casing, then drilling fluid, which, with its pressure, displaces the cement and forces it to rise up the well. The cement hardens quickly enough and creates a reliable “plug”. And then it is fed into the well sea water, which washes away drilling fluid and any debris. A large protective device is installed on top of the well - a preventer, which in the event of an oil and gas leak simply blocks their access to the top.
Since the morning of April 20, cement has been pumped into the well, and by lunchtime the first tests to test the reliability of the cement “plug” have already been carried out. Two specialists flew to the platform to check the quality of cementing. This inspection was supposed to last about 12 hours, but the management, who could not wait any longer, decided to abandon the standard procedure, and at 14.30 the specialists with their equipment left the platform, and soon they began to pump drilling fluid into the well.
Suddenly, at 18.45, the pressure in the drill string increased sharply, reaching 100 atmospheres in a few minutes. This meant that gas was leaking from the well. However, at 19.55 water pumping began, which simply could not be done. Over the next hour and a half, water was pumped from with varying success, since sudden pressure surges forced work to be interrupted.
Finally, at 21.47 the well does not hold up, gas rushes up the drill string, and 21.49 There was a monstrous explosion. After 36 hours, the platform tilted heavily and sank safely to the bottom.
The oil slick has reached the coast of Louisiana. Source: Greenpeace
Consequences of the explosion
An accident on an oil platform escalated into ecological disaster, the scale of which is simply amazing.
main reason environmental disaster- oil spill. Oil from the damaged well (as well as accompanying gases) continuously flowed for 152 days (until September 19, 2010), and during this time ocean waters received more than 5 million barrels of oil. This oil caused irreparable damage to the ocean and many coastal areas Gulf of Mexico.
In total, almost 1,800 kilometers of coastlines were polluted with oil, white sandy beaches turned into black oil fields, and an oil slick on the surface of the ocean was visible even from space. Oil has caused the death of tens of thousands of marine animals and birds.
Dealing with the consequences oil pollution was carried out by tens of thousands of people. “Black gold” was collected from the surface of the ocean by special vessels (skimmers), and the beaches were cleaned only by hand - modern science cannot offer mechanized means to solve this problem, it is so complex.
The main consequences of the oil spill were eliminated only by November 2011.
The accident had not only environmental, but also colossal (and most negative) consequences. economic consequences. Thus, the BP company lost about 22 billion dollars (this includes losses from the loss of a well, payments to victims, and costs to eliminate the consequences of the disaster). But they suffered even more significant losses coastal areas Gulf of Mexico. This is due to the collapse of the tourism sector (who will go on vacation to dirty oil beaches?), the ban on fishing and other activities, etc. As a result of the oil spill, tens of thousands of people who had nothing to do with this oil were left without work.
However, the disaster had completely unexpected consequences. For example, while studying an oil spill, bacteria unknown to science were discovered that feed on oil products! It is now believed that these microorganisms significantly reduced the consequences of the disaster, as they absorbed huge amounts of methane and other gases. It is possible that using these bacteria, scientists will be able to create microorganisms that in the future will help deal with oil spills quickly and cheaply.
Workers clean up the consequences of an oil spill. Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Photo: Greenpeace
Current situation
Currently, no work is being carried out at the site where the DeepWater Horizon platform died. However, the Macondo field, which was developed by BP with the help of a platform, stores too much oil and gas (about 7 million tons), and therefore new platforms will definitely come here in the future. True, the same people will be drilling the bottom - BP employees.
No comments. Photo: Greenpeace
Oil platform explosion Deepwater Horizon The accident occurred on April 20, 2010, 80 kilometers off the coast of Louisiana in
Gulf of Mexico on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform in the Macondo field.
The oil spill that followed the accident became the largest in US history and turned the accident into
one of the largest man-made disasters By negative influence on the environmental situation.
The explosion at the Deepwater Horizon installation killed 11 people and injured 17 out of 126
people on board. At the end of June 2010, there were reports of the death of 2 more
people during the liquidation of the consequences of a disaster.
Through damage to well pipes at a depth of 1500 meters into the Gulf of Mexico in 152 days
About 5 million barrels of oil spilled, the oil slick reached an area of 75 thousand
square kilometers.
Causes and culprits of the tragedy
According to an internal investigation conducted by employeessafety of BP, errors were cited as the cause of the accident
working personnel, technical faults and design errors
the oil platform itself. The prepared report stated that
rig employees misinterpreted measurement readings
pressure when checking the well for leaks, resulting in flow
hydrocarbons rising from the bottom of the well filled the drilling platform
through ventilation. After the explosion, as a result technical deficiencies
platform, the anti-reset fuse did not work, which
was supposed to automatically plug the oil well.
Oil spill
From April 20 to September 19, liquidation of the consequences of the accident continued. Themover time, according to some experts, about
5000 barrels of oil. According to other sources, up to 100,000 barrels fell into the water
per day, as announced by the US Secretary of the Interior in May 2010. By the end
In April, the oil slick reached the mouth of the Mississippi River, and in July 2010
oil was discovered on the beaches of the US state of Texas. Besides,
the underwater oil plume stretched 35 km in length at a depth of more than
1000 meters. In 152 days into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico through damaged
The well pipes spilled about 5 million barrels of oil. Oil area
spots amounted to 75 thousand km².
Environmental implications
Brown pelican covered in a thick layeroil, floating in the sea surf
coast of East Grande Terre Island, state
Louisiana.
Dead fish on the beach of Grand Isle, Louisiana.
The British Petroleum company uses chemical reagents -
so-called dispersants that break down oil. However, their
use leads to water poisoning. Dispersants
destroy the circulatory system of fish, and they die from
heavy bleeding. The oil-covered body of a dead dolphin lies on
land in Venice, Louisiana. This dolphin
spotted and picked up while flying over the southwest Mississippi River area.
American Brown Pelican (left), standing next to
with their pure brothers on one of the islands in
Barataria Bay. They nest on this island
numerous bird colonies. Oil-covered dead fish float off the coast
East Grand Terre Island June 4, 2010 near East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. Fish eats
contaminated due to the use of dispersants
plankton, and food chain toxins
are spreading everywhere.
The oil-covered carcass of a northern gannet on
beach on Grand Isle, Louisiana.
The state's coast was the first to encounter oil
film and suffered most from this
disasters.
About the consequences
As a result of the oil spill, 1,770 kilometers of coastline were contaminated, and a ban onfishing, more than a third of the entire water area of the Gulf of Mexico was closed to fishing. From
all US states with access to the Gulf of Mexico were hit hardest by oil
The states affected were Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.
As of May 25, 2010, 189 dead were found on the Gulf Coast
sea turtles, many birds and other animals, at that time the oil spill threatened more than 400
species of animals, including whales and dolphins.
As of November 2, 2010, 6,814 dead animals had been collected, including 6,104 birds,
609 sea turtles, 100 dolphins and other mammals, and one reptile of another species.
According to the Office of Specially Protected Resources and the National Oceanic Administration
atmospheric management in 2010-2011 recorded an increase in cetacean mortality
in the northern Gulf of Mexico several times compared to previous years (2002-2009
years).
Dealing with the consequences
The work to eliminate the oil spill was coordinated by a special group underleadership of the US Coast Guard, which included
representatives of various federal departments.
As of April 29, 2010, a flotilla participated in the rescue operation
BP, consisting of 49 tugs, barges, rescue boats and other vessels, also
4 submarines were used. On May 2, 2010, 76 people already took part in the operation
ships, 5 planes, about 1100 people, 6000 were also involved
military personnel National Guard USA, military personnel and equipment of the US Navy and Air Force USA.
In pursuit of oil, a person goes into the tundra, climbs mountains and conquers the seabed. But oil does not always give up without a fight, and as soon as a person loses his vigilance, “black gold” turns into a real black death for all living things. This happened quite recently in the Gulf of Mexico, where the ultra-modern oil platform DeepWater Horizon dealt a crushing blow to nature and human pride.
An object: oil platform DeepWater Horizon, 80 km off the coast of Louisiana (USA), Gulf of Mexico.
An ultra-deepwater oil drilling platform has been leased by BP to develop the promising Macondo field. The length of the platform reached 112 m, width - 78 m, height - 97.4 m, it went 23 meters under water and had a mass of over 32 thousand tons.
Victims: 13 people, 11 of them died during the fire, another 2 died during the liquidation of the consequences. 17 people received injuries of varying severity.
Source: US Coast Guard
Causes disasters
Major disasters do not have one single cause, as confirmed by the explosion of the DeepWater Horizon oil platform. This accident was the result of a whole chain of violations and technical malfunctions. Experts say it was only a matter of time before a platform disaster occurred.
It is interesting that several parallel investigations into the causes of the disaster were carried out, which led to different conclusions. Thus, the report made by BP indicates only 6 main causes of the accident, and the main cause of the accident is the human factor. A more authoritative report made by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Resources Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) and the US Coast Guard already names 35 main reasons, and 21 of them are blamed entirely on BP.
So who is to blame for the DeepWater Horizon explosion and subsequent environmental disaster? The answer is simple - BP, which was chasing profit, and in this pursuit neglected basic safety rules and deep-sea drilling technologies. In particular, the well cementing technology was violated, and the specialists who arrived to analyze the cement were simply kicked out of the drilling site. Important control and safety systems were also disabled, so no one knew what was really going on beneath the ocean floor.
The result was an explosion and fire on the platform, a colossal oil spill and the title of one of the largest environmental disasters in the entire history of civilization.
Chronicle of events
Problems on the platform began almost from the first day of its installation, that is, from the beginning of February 2010. The well was drilled in a hurry, and the reason is simple and banal: the DeepWater Horizon platform was leased by BP, and every day it cost half a million (!) dollars!
However, the real problems began in the early morning of April 20, 2010. The well was drilled, a depth of just over 3,600 meters below the bottom was reached (the depth of the ocean in this place reaches one and a half kilometers), and it remained to complete the work of strengthening the well with cement in order to reliably “lock in” the oil and gas.
This process in a simplified form goes like this. Special cement is fed into the well through the casing, then drilling fluid, which, with its pressure, displaces the cement and forces it to rise up the well. The cement hardens quickly enough and creates a reliable “plug”. And then sea water is pumped into the well, which washes out the drilling fluid and any debris. A large protective device is installed on top of the well - a preventer, which in the event of an oil and gas leak simply blocks their access to the top.
Since the morning of April 20, cement has been pumped into the well, and by lunchtime the first tests to test the reliability of the cement “plug” have already been carried out. Two specialists flew to the platform to check the quality of cementing. This inspection was supposed to last about 12 hours, but the management, who could not wait any longer, decided to abandon the standard procedure, and at 14.30 the specialists with their equipment left the platform, and soon they began to pump drilling fluid into the well.
Suddenly, at 18.45, the pressure in the drill string increased sharply, reaching 100 atmospheres in a few minutes. This meant that gas was leaking from the well. However, at 19.55 water pumping began, which simply could not be done. In the next hour and a half, water was pumped with varying success, as sudden pressure surges forced work to be interrupted.
Finally, at 21.47 the well does not hold up, gas rushes up the drill string, and 21.49 There was a monstrous explosion. After 36 hours, the platform tilted heavily and sank safely to the bottom.
The oil slick has reached the coast of Louisiana. Source: Greenpeace
Consequences of the explosion
An accident on an oil platform has grown into an environmental disaster, the scale of which is simply amazing.
The main cause of environmental disaster is an oil spill. Oil from the damaged well (as well as accompanying gases) continuously flowed for 152 days (until September 19, 2010), and during this time the ocean waters received more than 5 million barrels of oil. This oil caused irreparable damage to the ocean and many coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico.
In total, almost 1,800 kilometers of coastlines were polluted with oil, white sandy beaches turned into black oil fields, and an oil slick on the surface of the ocean was visible even from space. Oil has caused the death of tens of thousands of marine animals and birds.
The fight against the consequences of oil pollution was carried out by tens of thousands of people. “Black gold” was collected from the surface of the ocean by special vessels (skimmers), and the beaches were cleaned only by hand - modern science cannot offer mechanized means to solve this problem, it is so complex.
The main consequences of the oil spill were eliminated only by November 2011.
The accident had not only environmental, but also enormous (and most negative) economic consequences. Thus, the BP company lost about 22 billion dollars (this includes losses from the loss of a well, payments to victims, and costs to eliminate the consequences of the disaster). But the coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico suffered even more significant losses. This is due to the collapse of the tourism sector (who will go on vacation to dirty oil beaches?), the ban on fishing and other activities, etc. As a result of the oil spill, tens of thousands of people who had nothing to do with this oil were left without work.
However, the disaster also had completely unexpected consequences. For example, while studying an oil spill, bacteria unknown to science were discovered that feed on oil products! It is now believed that these microorganisms significantly reduced the consequences of the disaster, as they absorbed huge amounts of methane and other gases. It is possible that using these bacteria, scientists will be able to create microorganisms that in the future will help deal with oil spills quickly and cheaply.
Workers clean up the consequences of an oil spill. Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Photo: Greenpeace
Current situation
Currently, no work is being carried out at the site where the DeepWater Horizon platform died. However, the Macondo field, which was developed by BP with the help of a platform, stores too much oil and gas (about 7 million tons), and therefore new platforms will definitely come here in the future. True, the same people will be drilling the bottom - BP employees.
No comments. Photo: Greenpeace
Editor's responseOn April 22, 2010, an accident occurred on the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform, which BP used to produce oil in the Gulf of Mexico. As a result of the disaster, 11 people died and hundreds of thousands of tons of oil spilled into the sea. Due to the huge losses incurred as a result of the incident, BP was forced to sell assets around the world.
About 5 million barrels of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.
Extinguishing a platform in the Gulf of Mexico. April 2010 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Platform ultra-deep drilling Deepwater Horizon was built by shipbuilder Hyundai Industries ( South Korea) commissioned by R&B Falcon (Transocean Ltd.). This platform was launched in 2001, and some time later it was leased to the British oil and gas company British Petroleum (BP). The lease period has been extended several times, last time- until the beginning of 2013.
In February 2010, BP began developing the Macondo field in the Gulf of Mexico. A well was drilled at a depth of 1500 meters.
Oil platform explosion
On April 20, 2010, 80 km off the coast of the US state of Louisiana, a fire and explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform. The fire lasted more than 35 hours; firefighting vessels that arrived at the scene of the accident tried unsuccessfully to extinguish it. On April 22, the platform sank in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
As a result of the accident, 11 people went missing; searches for them were carried out until April 24, 2010 and did not yield any results. 115 people were evacuated from the platform, including 17 injured. Subsequently, world news agencies reported that two more people died during the liquidation of the consequences of the accident.
Oil spill
From April 20 to September 19, liquidation of the consequences of the accident continued. Meanwhile, according to some experts, about 5,000 barrels of oil entered the water every day. According to other sources, up to 100,000 barrels per day entered the water, as stated by the US Secretary of the Interior in May 2010.
By the end of April, the oil slick reached the mouth of the Mississippi River, and in July 2010, oil was discovered on the beaches of the US state of Texas. In addition, the underwater oil plume stretched 35 km in length at a depth of more than 1,000 meters.
Over 152 days, about 5 million barrels of oil spilled into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico through damaged well pipes. The area of the oil spill was 75 thousand km².
Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Elimination of consequences
After the Deepwater Horizon rig sank, efforts were made to seal the well, and later oil spill cleanup efforts began to contain the spread of the oil slick.
Almost immediately after the accident, specialists put plugs on the damaged pipe and began work on installing a steel dome, which was supposed to cover the damaged platform and prevent an oil spill. The first installation attempt was unsuccessful, and on May 13 it was decided to install a smaller dome. The oil leak was completely eliminated only on August 4, thanks to the fact that... To completely seal the well, two additional relief wells had to be drilled, into which cement was also pumped. Full sealing was announced on September 19, 2010.
To eliminate the consequences, tugs, barges, rescue boats, submarines BP company. They were helped by ships, planes and naval equipment US Navy and Air Force. More than 1,000 people took part in the liquidation of the consequences, and about 6,000 US National Guard troops were involved. To limit the area of the oil slick, dispersant spraying was used ( active substances, used to settle oil spills). Booms were also installed to contain the spill area. Mechanical oil recovery was used, both special courts, and manually - by volunteers on the US coast. In addition, experts decided to resort to controlled burning of oil spills.
Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Incident investigation
According to an internal investigation conducted by BP safety officials, the accident was blamed on worker errors, technical faults and design flaws in the oil platform itself. The prepared report stated that rig personnel misinterpreted pressure measurements during a well leak test, causing a stream of hydrocarbons rising from the bottom of the well to fill the drilling platform through a vent. After the explosion, as a result of technical shortcomings of the platform, the anti-reset fuse, which was supposed to automatically plug the oil well, did not work.
In mid-September 2010, a report by the Bureau of Ocean Resources Management, Regulation and Conservation was published and Coast Guard USA. It contained 35 causes of the accident, with BP identified as the sole culprit in 21 of them. In particular, the main reason cited was the neglect of safety standards to reduce well development costs. In addition, the platform employees did not receive comprehensive information about the work at the well, and as a result, their ignorance was superimposed on other errors, which led to the well-known consequences. In addition, the reasons cited were poor well design that did not provide sufficient barriers to oil and gas, as well as insufficient cementing and changes made to the well development project at the very last moment.
Transocean Ltd, the owners of the oil platform, and Halliburton, which carried out the underwater cementing of the well, were named as partly to blame.
Litigation and compensation
The Mexican oil spill trial against the British company BP began on February 25, 2013 in New Orleans (USA). In addition to federal claims, British company claims were brought from American states and municipalities.
A federal court in New Orleans has approved the amount of fines that BP must pay for the accident in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The fine will be $4.5 billion. BP will pay the amount over five years. Almost $2.4 billion will be transferred to National Trust fishery resources and wildlife USA, 350 million — National Academy Sci. In addition, according to the claims of the Commission on securities and US exchanges will be paid $525 million over three years.
On December 25, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals ruled that, despite filing statements of appeal, the British corporation BP must continue to pay claims from organizations and individuals, despite unproven facts of losses as a result of the oil spill. Initially, BP admitted its guilt in the incident only partially, placing part of the responsibility on the platform operator Transocean and subcontractor Halliburton. Transocean agreed in December 2012, but continues to insist that BP bears full responsibility for the accident on the platform.
Environmental implications
After the accident, one-third of the Gulf of Mexico was closed to fishing, and an almost complete ban on fishing was introduced.
Photo: www.globallookpress.com
1,100 miles of state coastline from Florida to Louisiana were polluted, and dead marine life was constantly found on the shore. In particular, about 600 sea turtles, 100 dolphins, more than 6,000 birds and many other mammals were found dead. As a result of the oil spill, mortality among whales and dolphins increased in subsequent years. According to ecologists, the mortality rate of bottlenose dolphins has increased 50 times.
Tropical coral reefs located in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico also suffered enormous damage.
Oil has even seeped into the waters of coastal reserves and marshes that play important role in maintaining the vital activity of wildlife and migratory birds.
According to latest research, today the Gulf of Mexico has almost completely recovered from the damage suffered. American oceanologists monitored the growth of reef-forming corals, which cannot live in polluted water, and found that the corals reproduce and grow in their usual rhythm. Biologists note a slight increase average temperature waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
Some researchers have expressed concerns about the impact of the oil accident on the climate-forming Gulf Stream. It was suggested that the current cooled by 10 degrees and began to break into separate undercurrents. Indeed, some weather anomalies (for example, strong winter frosts in Europe) have been occurring since the oil spill occurred. However, scientists still do not agree on whether the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is the primary cause of climate change and whether it affected the Gulf Stream.
Photo report on the accident on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. On April 22, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon platform, operated by oil and gas company British Petroleum (BP), sank off the coast of Louisiana after a 36-hour fire. An oil leak began. The platform on which the accident occurred belonged to the Swiss company Transocean. The American corporations Halliburton Energy Services and Cameron International were directly involved in preparing the platform for operation. She was operated by BP at the time of the accident. The accident resulted in the death of 11 people, and more than 5 million barrels of crude oil spilled into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.. Every day, up to 40 thousand barrels of oil (more than 6 million liters) leaked into the waters of the bay. BP has undertaken numerous and for the most part unsuccessful attempts to fix the leak. By March 2011, 530 miles remained unrecovered, according to Joint Oil Rig Response Center spokesman Mike Hvozda. The coast of Florida has been completely cleared, and the coasts of Alabama and Mississippi have been almost completely cleared. Uncleared areas remain in Louisiana, including some coastline and numerous swamps. Chemical pollution as a result of this catastrophe can lead to colossal consequences, which today can already be the cause of the climate change taking place on the planet. The site "Survival" offers viewing photo of the consequences of an accident on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico:
