1. The Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill, in which 4.9 million barrels of crude oil was released into the Gulf of Mexico, might have been preventable had BP listened to the concerns of its engineers a year prior
Deepwater Horizon was an offshore drilling rig, built in 2001 for the purpose of oil extraction from the Tiber Oil Field in the Gulf of Mexico. As of September 2009, the rig had drilled the deepest oil well in history, reaching a vertical depth of 10,683 meters. On April 20, 2010, a blowout – the sudden and uncontrolled release of pressurized oil – caused an explosion, detonating a fireball that was visible for 40 miles away and killing 11 people. Unable to extinguish the fire, the Horizon sank on April 22 leaving an open well pumping crude oil into the ocean waters.
Between the start of operations and 2010, Deepwater had been cited 18 times by the U.S. Coast Guard for pollution, in addition to 16 incidents of fire, including an occasion in 2008 when the platform began to sink. Subsequent investigations revealed internal documents showing that engineers had raised concerns in 2009 regarding the potential collapse of the facility, but were rebuffed and warned they might lose their jobs if they pressed the matter. In particular, the blowout preventer was not fitted with a remote control for use in an emergency situation; as a result, after the platform was destroyed there was no means to turn off the well and the situation escalated beyond containment.
Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
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“Destination Disaster”, Andrew Brookes, Ian Allan Publishing (2002)
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“Sealed by Time: The Loss and Recovery of the Mary Rose”, Peter Marsden, The Mary Rose Trust (2003)
“A Reporter At Large: The Gulf War”, Raffi Khatchadourian, The New Yorker (March 11, 2011)