Effects of the British Petroleum Oil Spill

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Less than a year ago people were outraged about the huge event that was headlining in the news everywhere. This incident was called the British Petroleum (BP) oil spill, and this spill kept many frightened and waiting for answers on the future. The BP oil spill significantly changed many lives, cost an abundance of money, and occurred because people were being careless on the job and not as aware as they should have been. April 20, 2010 was a day that many remember, but not for a respectable reason. On this particular day, there was an explosion in the rig that caused a huge fire causing eleven workers to die and leaving 17 hurt (Walsh 2). The fire burned for 36 hours, until the rig fomally sank (BP Internal Investigation 3). Even from the beginning people’s lives were taken away, and not only did many people die but it made some depressed and caused other to have financial problems. Even though BP did not own the oil rig they were held accountable for what happened. The (Macondo oil well), was drilled less than a year ago, but was “owned by the drilling company Transocean and leased to the energy giant BP” (Walsh 1). BP was still at fault for this disaster people called an accident, even though the company was not the owner of the rig. Although, British Petroleum is one of the most well-known oil companies throughout the world, they have had many problems in their past. “In Alaska, home to one of BP’s longest-standing and most important business units, the company produced nearly twice as much oil as ConocoPhillips, the other major company operating there, but since 2000 it has also recorded nearly four times as many large spills of oil, chemicals or waste” (Lustgarten 2). That was just one example of how BP has bee... ... middle of paper ... ...t occurred because there were many mistakes. Eight results were found on how the oil well exploded, and one example is the “Well control response actions failed to regain control of the well” (BP Internal Investigation 5). This is just one example of how BP made a mistake, and seven more were found. BP already had a bad name because of their past, and this major disaster was just one more on the list. The BP oil spill was a major disaster that occurred less than a year ago, and has been a main concern for many different types of people. It affected the tourism, the seafood industry, and the real estate industry. Also, the oil spill cost BP millions of dollars. The money went to BP repairing the spill, and compensating companies and individuals that lost income due to the leak. The oil spill started on April 20, 2010 and is still an ongoing problem.

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