 BP is a global oil and gas

company

 Fourth largest company in

the world

 BP operates in over 80
countries producing about
3.8 million barrels of oil
per day servicing 22,400
stations
 British U.S.
Transocean
Petroleum government

World
Workers Residents
Population
 On April 20, 2010, there was an explosion on
BP’s drilling rig “Deepwater Horizon” in the
Gulf of Mexico, near Louisiana.

 The oil spill caused the second largest

environment disaster in U.S. history
Why drill here?

Oil-rich
states
surround
the Gulf
of Mexico.
Why is oil found in the
Gulf of Mexico?

The Gulf is a sedimentary

basin formed during
Jurassic and Cretaceous
periods of rising and
lowering sea level which
buried organic material
and formed natural gas.
 Abnormal pressure
caused a methane
bubble

 Methane gas
escaped from the
well and ignited

 The explosion was

sudden, it took less
than five minutes for
the rig to ignite on
fire. Methane Bubble
 There had been several small fires and spills at
Deepwater Horizon
 The metal casing was known to have issues in 2009
and BP was warned that it could collapse under
high pressure.
 BP officials rejected a safety proposal to install
casing liner and casing stabilizers which cost $7
million and 10+ hour of labour.
 In an email BP engineer Brian Morel called
Deepwater a "nightmare rig" due to these cavalier
safety risks.
They often switched from a drilling rig to a
production rig, and vice versa. In order to do
so, the bottom of the hole needed to be
sealed with a cement plug, called a shoe.

To shut down the well a series of “casing

integrity tests” was done. This ensures that
there is no pressure leaking.
1. When the crew tried to fit a
top plug, it did not sit
properly. This clearly
indicated that the bottom
cement seal could be leaking
pressure into the well.
2. A failed “Negative Pressure
Test”, indicated that there
was pressure build up
3. In a final stage of shutting
down the well, the rig crew
replaced the heavy drilling
mud with sea water. However
the mud flowed out faster
than the water, which was
not normal.

THESE THREE SIGNS CLEARLY INDICATED THERE WAS A

PROBLEM!
◦ Knowing that the
Deepwater Horizon had
problems, BP did not
take any action
◦ The rig continued to
run under risk. Putting
profit over the safety of
workers.
◦ The management of BP
ignored the “Red Flags”
from their procedural
tests.
 NOAA/NATIONAL BUOY DATA CENTER
 Blowout of wells
 Accidental damage to offshore drilling rigs
 Cracks, punctures and erosion to transport
pipelines
 Illness may prevent
breeding
 Number of eggs laid
or thickness of egg
is reduced

WILLIAM B. FOLSOM/NMFS, NOAA

 Insulation and
water-proofing of
feathers destroyed
 Unable to fly or dive
 Hypothermia
 Dehydration
 Starvation
 Ulcers (if oil is
ingested)
 Damage to adrenal
systems affecting
blood
GERALD HERBERT/ASSOCIATED PRESS

pressure and fluid

 Stress
May experience respiratory problems from breathing
fumes from oil or droplets of dispersed oil, causing
damage to the airways and lungs – congestion,
pneumonia, emphysema and even death

NOAA

Sperm whale surfaces off the coast of Mississippi

 BONNIE STRAWSER,/USFWS TIM REID/NOAA

Causes contamination of eggs, adult turtles

and newly hatched turtles
 Summary of Criminal Prosecutions
 1. PRINCIPAL DEFENDANT: Transocean, LTD
E.D. Louisiana 13-001
 2. DEFENDANT: BP, PLC
E.D. Louisiana 2:12-CR-00292-DEK
Clean Water Act (CWA)
and
Migratory Bird Treaty Act
 BP PLC was charged with 11 counts of
felony manslaughter, one count of
felony obstruction of Congress, a
violation of 18 U.S.C. 1505 and
violations of the Clean Water {33 U.S.C.
1319(c)(1)(A) and Migratory Bird Treaty
Acts {16 U.S.C. 703}.
 Clean Water Act

Transocean LTD was charged with violating the

CWA {33 U.S.C. 1319(c)(1)(A)}.
 Clean Air Act

 The company pleaded guilty to felony

violations of the Clean Air Act and paid a $50
million fine following a 2005 explosion at its
Texas City refinery that killed 15 and injured
180 others.
Clean Water Act  BP Exploration and
Production Inc. (BP) has
and agreed to plead guilty to
Migratory Bird Treaty Act felony manslaughter,
environmental crimes and
obstruction of Congress
and pay a record $4 billion
in criminal fines and
penalties for its conduct
leading to the 2010
Deepwater Horizon
disaster.
Clean Water Act  Transocean to Pay
Record $1 Billion in
Civil Penalties and
$400 Million Criminal
Fines.

Clean Air Act  BP to pay $50 million

Fine