An explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers on 20 April 2010, triggering the largest marine oil spill in history and a later federal court finding of gross negligence against BP.
BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig on fire in the Gulf of Mexico. (15010938489) — Credit: USEPA Environmental-Protection-Agency · Public domain
Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible drilling rig owned by Transocean and operated under lease by BP in the Gulf of Mexico. On the evening of 20 April 2010, at 7:45 p.m. CDT, while the rig was completing an exploratory well at the Macondo Prospect (Mississippi Canyon Block 252), about 41 miles off the coast of Louisiana, a blowout at the wellhead sent a geyser of seawater, and then a mixture of drilling mud, methane gas, and water, erupting onto the rig. The gas ignited into a series of explosions and a fire visible from 40 miles away. Crew attempted to activate the blowout preventer and, as a final safeguard, a device known as a blind shear ram, but both failed to seal the well.
Eleven rig workers were killed. Ten men — Jason Anderson, 35, of Midfield, Texas; Donald Clark, 49, of Newellton, Louisiana; Stephen Ray Curtis, 40, of Georgetown, Louisiana; Gordon Jones, 28, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Roy Wyatt Kemp, 27, of Jonesville, Louisiana; Karl Kleppinger Jr., 38, of Natchez, Mississippi; Keith Blair Manuel, 56, of Gonzales, Louisiana; Dewey Revette, 48, of State Line, Mississippi; Shane Roshto, 22, of Liberty, Mississippi; and Adam Weise, 24, of Yorktown, Texas — were presumed killed by the initial explosion. An eleventh worker, crane operator Aaron Dale Burkeen, 37, of Philadelphia, Mississippi, died in the fire that followed. Of 115 survivors, 17 were injured; the rig was evacuated and injured workers were airlifted to medical care.
The fire could not be extinguished. After burning for roughly 36 hours, Deepwater Horizon sank on 22 April 2010, coming to rest on the seafloor about 1,500 metres deep and roughly 400 metres northwest of the well. With the rig gone, the well continued releasing oil at the seabed, producing what has been recorded as the largest marine oil spill in history and 40 miles of coastal pollution. The spill was not closed by a cap until 15 July 2010, and the well was declared "effectively dead" on 19 September 2010 after relief wells permanently sealed it. NOAA subsequently established the Gulf Spill Restoration project to help restore the affected coastline.
Investigations into the explosion focused in part on decisions about cementing the well's final casing, including the OptiCem cement-modelling system Halliburton used in April 2010. In January 2013, Transocean agreed to pay US$1.4 billion for violations of the U.S. Clean Water Act; BP separately agreed to pay $2.4 billion, with additional potential penalties estimated at $5 billion to $20 billion. In September 2014, Halliburton agreed to pay $1.1 billion into a trust to settle a large share of the legal claims against it. On 4 September 2014, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ruled that BP was guilty of gross negligence and willful misconduct under the Clean Water Act, calling BP's conduct "reckless" and Transocean's and Halliburton's conduct "negligent"; he apportioned 67 percent of the blame for the spill to BP, 30 percent to Transocean, and 3 percent to Halliburton. BP said it would appeal. On 8 December 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected BP's challenge to the compensation settlement for spill victims, initially estimated by BP at about $7.8 billion; by 2018, roughly 390,000 claims had been filed, with about $65 billion paid in settlements and further claims still outstanding. The spill has since been cited by lawyers, academics, and journalists as an example of ecocide.
Dewey Revette, Donald Clark, Gordon Jones, Karl Kleppinger Jr., Adam Weise, Roy Wyatt Kemp, Keith Blair Manuel, Aaron Dale Burkeen, Shane Roshto, Stephen Ray Curtis, Jason Anderson
Date
2010
Location
Macondo Prospect, Mississippi Canyon Block 252, Gulf of Mexico, off the Louisiana coast
Case status
solved
Case timeline
1998-12
Construction of Deepwater Horizon began at Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea, for original owner R&B Falcon.
2000-03-21
The rig's keel was laid.
2001-02-23
Deepwater Horizon was delivered to Transocean, which had acquired R&B Falcon, and leased to BP for operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
2009-09
Deepwater Horizon drilled the deepest oil well in history to that point, in the Tiber Oil Field, reaching a vertical depth of 35,050 feet below 4,132 feet of water.
2010-02
Deepwater Horizon began drilling an exploratory well at the Macondo Prospect (Mississippi Canyon Block 252), about 41 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
2010-04-20
A blowout at the Macondo well triggered a geyser of seawater and drilling mud, then a series of explosions and a fire aboard Deepwater Horizon; the blowout preventer and blind shear ram both failed to seal the well. Eleven rig workers were killed and 17 of 115 survivors were injured.
2010-04-22
After burning for roughly 36 hours, Deepwater Horizon sank, coming to rest on the seafloor about 1,500 metres deep near the well site.
2010-05-05
Transocean received an early partial insurance settlement of about US$401 million for the loss of the rig.
2010-07-15
The Macondo well spill was closed by a cap after nearly three months of release into the Gulf of Mexico.
2010-09-19
Relief wells permanently sealed the Macondo well, which was declared "effectively dead."
2013-01
Transocean agreed to pay US$1.4 billion for violations of the U.S. Clean Water Act.
2014-09
Halliburton agreed to pay US$1.1 billion into a trust to settle a large share of the legal claims against it.
2014-09-04
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ruled BP guilty of gross negligence and willful misconduct under the Clean Water Act, apportioning 67% of the blame for the spill to BP, 30% to Transocean, and 3% to Halliburton.
2014-12-08
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected BP's legal challenge to the compensation settlement for spill victims.
2018
Approximately 390,000 compensation claims had been filed, with about US$65 billion paid in settlements and further claims still outstanding.
Best coverage
Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status; see the dossier above for sourced case facts.
VIDEO
Coffeehouse Crime / 27 min
This Terrifying Underwater Disaster sent Eleven Men to their Graves...
People
Dewey Revette
VICTIM
Age 48, of State Line, Mississippi; among the ten rig workers presumed killed by the initial explosion aboard Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010.
Donald Clark
VICTIM
Age 49, of Newellton, Louisiana; among the ten rig workers presumed killed by the initial explosion aboard Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010.
Gordon Jones
VICTIM
Age 28, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; among the ten rig workers presumed killed by the initial explosion aboard Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010.
Karl Kleppinger Jr.
VICTIM
Age 38, of Natchez, Mississippi; among the ten rig workers presumed killed by the initial explosion aboard Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010.
Adam Weise
VICTIM
Age 24, of Yorktown, Texas; among the ten rig workers presumed killed by the initial explosion aboard Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010.
Roy Wyatt Kemp
VICTIM
Age 27, of Jonesville, Louisiana; among the ten rig workers presumed killed by the initial explosion aboard Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010.
Keith Blair Manuel
VICTIM
Age 56, of Gonzales, Louisiana; among the ten rig workers presumed killed by the initial explosion aboard Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010.
Aaron Dale Burkeen
VICTIM
Age 37, of Philadelphia, Mississippi; crane operator who died in the fire that followed the initial explosion aboard Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010.
Shane Roshto
VICTIM
Age 22, of Liberty, Mississippi; among the ten rig workers presumed killed by the initial explosion aboard Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010.
BP
CONVICTED
Ruled guilty of gross negligence and willful misconduct under the U.S. Clean Water Act by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier on 4 September 2014, and apportioned 67% of the blame for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Stephen Ray Curtis
VICTIM
Age 40, of Georgetown, Louisiana; among the ten rig workers presumed killed by the initial explosion aboard Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010.
Jason Anderson
VICTIM
Age 35, of Midfield, Texas; among the ten rig workers presumed killed by the initial explosion aboard Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Archival records
other document
Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling unit on fire 2010
Credit: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · Source
archival location
Q4000-Discoverer-Enterprise
Credit: . U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick Kelley. · Public domain · Source
An explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers on 20 April 2010, triggering the largest marine oil spill in history and a later federal court finding of gross negligence against BP.
Where did the crime happen?
Macondo Prospect, Mississippi Canyon Block 252, Gulf of Mexico, off the Louisiana coast.
Who was convicted?
BP (Ruled guilty of gross negligence and willful misconduct under the U.S. Clean Water Act by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier on 4 September 2014, and apportioned 67% of the blame for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.).
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