On April 20, 2010 a catastrophic blowout on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig off the Louisiana coast resulted the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. Spill estimates placed the daily flow from the broken wellhead between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels of oil per day. The explosion ultimately sank the drilling rig, killed eleven oil workers, and spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico for three months before being capped on July 15, 2010. The long-term impact of the spill has yet to be fully ascertained, although it has significantly impacted tourism and fishing industries throughout the Gulf region as well as damaged critical fisheries and marshland habitat. BP has admitted mistakes resulting in the spill.



