Deepwater Horizon oil spill
2010 CE.
Shown on the map at 28.737°, -88.387°.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was an environmental disaster beginning 20 April 2010 off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8 to 31 percent larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill, also in the Gulf of Mexico. Caused in the aftermath of a blowout and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, the United States federal government estimated the total discharge at 4.9 million barrels (210,000,000 US gal; 780,000 m3). After several failed efforts to contain the flow, the well was declared sealed on 19 September 2010. Reports in early 2012 indicated that the well site was still leaking. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is regarded as one of the largest environmental disasters in world history. A massive response ensued to protect beaches, wetlands and estuaries from the spreading oil utilizing skimmer ships, floating booms, controlled burns and 1,840,000 US gal (7,000 m3) of oil dispersant.
Text from the Wikipedia article Deepwater Horizon oil spill, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.