ABSTRACT
In May 2010 there was a massive crude oil leak disaster on an oil rig leased by the oil giant, BP, in the Gulf of Mexico. The Deepwater Horizon rig operated and owned by contractor Transocean exploded and sank, killing 11 men and triggering the leak. In the hours after the accident, BP and the US Coast Guard said there appeared to be no leak, but their estimate of the amount of oil being discharged into the ocean was later revised to first 1,000, then 5,000, barrels per day. In June 2010, US government scientists raised estimates for the amount coming from this leak to 40,000 barrels per day (by some estimates roughly 6.5 million litres per day) from the earlier revised forecast of 20,000 barrels. The US Coast Guard then accused BP of failing to have the right equipment and back-up plans and Rear Admiral James Watson of the US Coast Guard blamed BP for lacking the necessary equipment to capture all the oil flowing from its catastrophic leak.
