2010 BP oil spill - Research Paper Example

It was under lease of British Petroleum. At the time of the explosion, drilling was going on for an exploratory well at depths of about 5000 feet. The well was almost complete; cementing was being carried out by the Halliburton Energy Services after which the well could be used as a subsea producer later. However, this did not happen. On 20th April, 2010, methane gas shot up from the well all the way to the rig. It expanded on the platform, caught fire and the rig exploded. All but eleven workers were saved through rescue efforts and lifeboats.

An oil leak was found on April 22, when oil started surfacing from the location of the rig. According to official estimates of August 2, about 62000 barrels of oil per day has escaped the well into the water, endangering the environment and submarine life (Channel 4 News, 2010). An investigation was launched on the day the oil spill started appearing on the surface. The whole fiasco has gotten extensive media coverage where BP has been considered primarily responsible for being negligent about some parts of the rig, which were not directly related to the cause of the explosion.

There is still no explanation of why the rig exploded and caught fire, or whey the safety mechanics did not work at the rig. BP’s CEO took full responsibility of the incident, promising to pay everything and person who has been affected from this fiasco. The media as well as the government has held BP responsible for the fiasco. Reports have been made that a rig technician kept missing the key signals while being on a smoke break, that the oil rig was about to blow. This is a serious mistake on the part of the technician that is still costing BP and the environment.

Settlements are being made by the company to all those who have been affected; cleaning efforts are also taking place by the organization of cleaning the shores and making it oil free so that the marine habitat isn’t at stake (Reuters, 2010). Although on