A Code Sinking into the Sea--Memories of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Spring 2010 (April 2010)
On April 20, 2010, an explosion in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the sinking of the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon and the death of 11 people. But the real disaster came later. For 87 days, oil continued to gush unabated from the seafloor, spilling a total of 4.9 million barrels of crude oil, or about 780 million liters, into the sea. The cause was Halliburton's inadequate cement sealing of the well, which allowed gas to gush out and caused the rig to explode. The blowout preventer did not work, and the oil spill could not be prevented. The accident dealt a tremendous blow to the marine ecosystem. BP was held liable and had to pay a total of more than $65 billion in fines and environmental damages. This disaster, caused by the risks of deep-sea drilling and human overconfidence, has left behind significant lessons in both energy and ethics.
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