Free Essay about BP Oil Spill

US government and the BP Company

The BP oil spill has been regarded as the worst oil disaster in the history of the United States. The disaster began in the Gulf of Mexico on the 20th of April 2010. The BP Company was contracted to carry out the oil drilling as they had proved competent. The outcome of the accident was the death of eleven individuals and the injury of others seventeen. According to the US government, the oil spills were estimated to be 4.9 barrels of oil, the largest spill ever experienced (Kleinnijenhuis, et al. pp.408). After five months, it was stated that the flow was contained and the leakage sealed. However, in 2012, there were suggestions of possible spillages. The well was located in the deep sea a place in the ocean that is characterized by constant darkness, high pressure and extremely low temperatures. When the explosion occurred, the BP workers, the government and Transocean tried to control the oil spread to the coastal region and the beach ecosystem as such would impact the environment adversely.

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The effect of the spillage was massive, especially on the environment. The wildlife and marine habitats were experienced which would affect the tourism and fishing industry (Ritchie, et al. pp13). Floating booms and skimmer ships were utilized in pursuit of the protection of the estuaries and wetlands from the spreading oil (Ivshina, et al., pp.1210). Moreover, the lives of the survivors changed after the ordeal especially psychologically, and they would take some time to deal with the trauma.

Many investigations carried out aimed at establishing the cause of the explosion and the oil spillage. In September 2011, the government report suggested that a defective wall cement on the well (Mills, and Koliba, pp.85). The liability was to the rig operator namely Transocean, Halliburton contractor and BP. Such a wall resulted from a cost-cutting decision coupled with inadequate safety systems. As such the root cause was systemic (Mills, and Koliba, pp.91). In 2012, US Department of Justice settled criminal charges against pleading guilty of the accusations.

Works Cited

Gill, Duane A., et al. "The Exxon and BP oil spills: a comparison of psychosocial impacts." Natural hazards 74.3 (2014): 1911-1932.

Ivshina, Irena B., et al. "Oil spill problems and sustainable response strategies through new technologies." Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts 17.7 (2015): 1201-1219.

Kleinnijenhuis, Jan, et al. "The mediating role of the news in the BP oil spill crisis 2010: How US news is influenced by public relations and in turn influences public awareness, foreign news, and the share price." Communication Research 42.3 (2015): 408-428.

Mills, Russell W., and Christopher J. Koliba. "The challenge of accountability in complex regulatory networks: The case of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill." Regulation & Governance 9.1 (2015): 77-91.

Ritchie, Brent W., et al. "Understanding the effects of a tourism crisis: the impact of the BP oil spill on regional lodging demand." Journal of Travel Research 53.1 (2014): 12-25.