Oil spills - Case Study Of Deep Water Horizon

1. OIL SPILLS
PRESENTATION BY:- AMIT SINGH
MANHAS

2. ABOUT OIL SPILLS
It is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon
into the environment.
The term is usually applied to marine oil spills,
where oil is released into the ocean or coastal
waters.
Oil spills may also occur on land.
Oil spills maybe due to releases of crude oil from
tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs & wells, as
well as spills of refined petroleum products and their
by-products, heavier fuels used by large ships such
as bunker fuel, or the spill of any oily refuse or

3. VULNERABLE POPULATION
The people working on oil rigs, ships carrying oil
and the people living around the coastline
The people involved in cleanup process are also
vulnerable.
The aquatic population and the birds around
these potential risky areas.
VULNERABLE AREAS
The most vulnerable areas are the ecological
sensitive areas like mangroves, marshes and the
sandy beaches.
The areas around the oil rigs.

4. RISK
Oil spills at sea are much more damaging
than those on land, since they can spread for
hundreds of nautical miles in a thin oil slick.
These can kill seabirds, mammals, shellfish
and other organisms they coat.
An oil spill represents an immediate fire
hazard.
Spilled oil can also contaminate drinking water
supplies.
Contamination can have an economic impact
on tourism and marine resource extraction
industries.

5. ELEMENTS AT RISK
The people working in vulnerable areas (oil
rigs, vessels, etc).
The cleanup workers.
Aquatic organisms and birds.
Tourism
People living in the coastal areas

7. MITIGATION & preparedness
Usage of the most advanced and safe technology
in oil rigs.
Optimize tanker safety standards.
Optimize safety of tanker navigation in port.
Optimize safety of oil transfer operations.
Complete and updated Oil Spill Contingency
plans.
Adopt appropriate clean up techniques for
restoring oiled habitats.
Procure additional oil containment booms.
Time to time technological assessment of
equipment and procedures.

8. RESPONSE & recovery
Search and rescue
Identifying the source of the oil, & sealing off that
source.
Collection of oil
Containment of oil using containment booms
Dispersion of oil
Removal of oils from beaches
Damage assessment and claims
Medical assistance to the people exposed to the
oil spill
Proper steps to restore normalcy in the ecosystem

9. DEEPWATER HORIZON
OIL SPILL

10. EVENT
The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (also referred
to as the BP Oil Spill, the Gulf of Mexico Oil
Spill, and the Macondo Blowout) began on
20th April, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico on BP
operated Macondo Prospect.
Following the explosion and sinking of the
Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a sea floor oil
gusher flowed for 87 days, untill it was capped
on 15th July, 2010.
Eleven people went missing and were never
found and it is considered the largest
accidental marine oil spill in the history of the

12. DAMAGE
 Due to the months-long spill, along with adverse
effects from the response and cleanup activities,
extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats and
fishing and tourism industries was reported.
 In 2013 it was reported that dolphines and other
marine life continued to die in record numbers.
 A study released in 2014 reported that tuna and
amberjack that were exposed to oil from the spill
developed deformities of the heart and other organs.
 Workers indulged in the cleanup process and the
population near the coastline faced serious health
issues.
 The spill had a strong economic impact to BP and
also the Gulf Coast economy sectors such as offshore

15. CAUSES
Numerous investigations explored the causes
of the explosion and record setting spill.
The US government September 2011 report
pointed to defective cement on the well,
faulting mostly BP, but also rig operator
Transocean and contractor Halliburton.
Earlier, a White House commission likewise
blamed BP and its partners for a series of cost
cutting decisions and an insufficient safety
system.

16. MANAGEMENT MECHANISM
The first priority was to shut down the wellhead.
The fundamental strategies for addressing the spill
were containment, dispersal and removal.
Conatainment booms stretching over 1300 km
were deployed, either to corral the oil or as barriers
to protect marshes, mangroves, sor other
ecologically sensitive areas.
Use of corexit dispersant- over 400 sorties were
flown to release the product and it was described
as the most effective and fast moving tool for
minimizing shoreline impact.
The three basic approaches for removing the oil
were- combustion, offshore filtration, and collection

17. For marshes, techniques such as vaccum and
pumping, low pressure flush, vegetation cutting,
and bioremediation were used.
On beaches the main techniques were sifting sand,
removing tar balls, and digging out tar mats.

19. FOLLOWED
On May 18th, 2010, BP was designated the lead
responsible party under the Oil Pollution Act of
1990.
On April 15th, 2014, BP claimed that cleanup along
the coast was substantially complete.
The spill area hosts 8332 species, almost all of
them were affected from the oil spill.
In 2012, tar balls continued to wash up along the
gulf coast.
In 2013, researchers found that oil on the bottom
of the seafloor did not seem to be degrading.
A 2014 bluefin tuna study in science found that oil

20. There was an sharp increase in dolphin deaths
after BP oil spill.
By June 2010, 143 spill exposure cases had been
reported, chemicals from the oil and dispersant are
believed to be the cause.
A 2012 survey reported health effects on clean up
workers.
On 4th September 2014, US district judge Carl
Barbier ruled BP, Transocean and Halliburton
Guilty.
On 2nd July 2015, BP, the US Justice Department
and five gulf states announced that the company
agreed to pay a record settlement of $18.7Billion.

21. CRTICAL REVIEWS
Lack of any agency to keep a check on the
faulty material and insufficient safety system
Excessive use of dispersants
Wastage of resources making Louisiana
barrier island plan
The US government rejected offers of cleanup
from other countries.
Lack of transparency during settlements of
claims.