The Deep Horizon Oil Spill

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The Deep Horizon oil spill

The Deep-water horizon oil spill is one of the largest oil spills in history. The spill occurred due to several factors including system failure and human error. The spill not only affected the wildlife and economy of the gulf but the entire United States as goods and service that were once available were no longer available. As a result of the oil spill Bp was forced to pay billions of dollars to restore the damages that they have caused. In addition, the oil and gas industry have changes there practices and are working with the government under new laws and regulation to prevent a future oil spill.

On April 20, 2010, an event that became known as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred. It is sometime referred to as the BP oil spill, as BP was the company operating on the Deep Water horizon at the time of the spill. This oil spill is considered one of the largest oil spills in history as approximately 4.9 million barrels of oil made its way into the open ocean, reaching as far away as Florida.

The oil spills occur due to a combination of system failure and human error. The primary cause of the spill was the failure in the cement work, the blowout preventer and the crew’s misinterpretation of crucial safety test. Before the oil crew worked on the rig they had to secure it, they did so by filling the borehole with cement. However, the cement failed to secure the well, allowing for oil and gas to flow through the pipe where it eventually reaching the surface. When the crew noticed the spill they attempted to activate the blowout preventer which would have stopped the flow of oil. But the blowout preventer did not function as it was suppose to, this is due to a bent pipe preventing the blind shear ...

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