Deep Water Oil

• Where is deep water oil found?

  In the Gulf of Mexico
• How many oil rigs were in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010?

  14 rigs
• How many oil rigs were in the Gulf of Mexico in 2024?

  3,500 rigs
• Why is deep water drilling risky?

  Long undersea pipes are needed, and there could be potential damage to rigs from hurricanes.
• How many oil platforms were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina in 2005?

  46 platforms
• How many barrels of oil does the BP Atlantic Platform produce per day?

  200,000 barrels
• How deep is the water where the BP Atlantic Platform is located?

  2,150 meters
• Why did the Deepwater Horizon 2010 platform explode?

  A surge of natural gas made its way up the pipe.
• How many men died in the Deepwater Horizon incident?

  11 men
• What was initially done to counteract upward pressure in the Deepwater Horizon incident?

  Drilling mud was injected down into the well
• Once the Deepwater Horizon rig collapsed, how many barrels of oil leaked into the gulf per day?

  60,000 barrels
• What strategies were used to staunch the flow in the Deepwater Horizon incident?

  BP tried to install a dome, which was ineffective. After 3 months, a cap was installed, and was fully sealed after 5 months.
• In the Deepwater Horizon incident, how many barrels of oil were lost in total?

  4.9 million barrels
• How far did the slick from the Deepwater Horizon incident extend?

  149,000 km squared
• What strategies were used to contain the slick from the Deepwater Horizon incident?

  Chemical dispersion and booms, and eventually drilling relief wells
• What was the total cost of the Deepwater Horizon incident?

  $40 billion
• What did BP do to help those affected by the Deepwater Horizon incident?

  Set up a $20 billion fund to compensate those affected