Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (BP Oil Spill)

It all started on April 20th, 2010 when a sea floor oil gushing out from 5000 feet (1500m) below the sea level. The oil was estimated to spill at the rate of 500,000 gallon (or 2,000,000 litters) per day at the minimum. Since the spill was on the Gulf of Mexico, I started to smell the oil when I was fishing at the Pensacola Beach Pier about a month ago.  Now, after almost 2 month, the spill still can’t be stopped, and it is spreading continuously to the surrounding area.

If you are curious how big the spill is, take a look at this area map of gulf of Mexico. (click on the image for bigger view)

As you can see, the spill start to reach the shore. I can’t imagine how this will affect the environment there.

BP has done couple things to fix this problem. Granted, none of them has been successful, but they are keep trying.

1. On May 7th, 2010, BP tried to contain the oil by dropping 280,000 pound (close to 115 tons) container dome to the source of the oil spill, but they failed because the combination of oil and cold water will produce Methane Hydrate which block the canopy at the top of the dome.
2. On May 11th, 2010, BP tried to use smaller container dome, but it still failed.
3. On May 14th, 2010, BP tried to use insertion tube to save some of the oil spill, which was saving 84,000 gallons (or 320,000 litres) of oil per day.
4. On May 29th, 2010, BP tried to use “top kill” method to seal the leak, but again, it was failed.
5. On June 7th, 2010, BP had successfully contained close to 620,000 gallons of oil per day using their Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) Cap Containment System.

The oil is still spilling though, so BP has still to find a way to properly seal it. There are also some recovery actions that are done to contain the oil that has been spilled, some of them are

1. Collect the oil by using containment boom.
2. Disperse the oil by using  oil dispersant, Corexit EC9500A and Corexit EC9527A.

Well…I am just hoping that all the efforts will work. If this continues, I’m sure there will be more damage done to the ecosystem and tourism around gulf of Mexico. I have heard from the radio and one of my friends that many people have cancelled their reservation this summer at those area around Gulf of Mexico, so this incident would also affect the economy in the Gulf of Mexico area.

I don’t think we should blame anyone for this. Everyone (ex: BP, government, etc.) have their own share of mistakes that contribute to this incident. What do you guys think? how long this disaster will continue? Whom to be blamed? most importantly, how can we fix this? well…if you know the answer of the last question, let me know. We can work something out and make BARRELS of money. 🙂

Lastly, in my attempt to cheer you up, check out and watch this funny, but yet true, video.