BP Oil Spill

This may refer to:

• Any of the Gulf of Mexico Oil spills
• The Gulf War oil spill.
• Any of the Persian Gulf oil spills.

See related questions.

Currently, during the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, they are very involved in getting donated natural fibers (hair, fur, wool) to the Gulf coast to make booms to protect what can be protected from the toxic oil, and to use to help in clean up of beaches and wildlife where those measures to try to protect fail.

The role this non-profit volunteer organization plays in this effort is amazing, but this is not their only project, it is just their current emergency project to coordinate the donations of natural fibers such as hair, wool, feathers, and also of pairs of nylons (hosiery), to be used to help make barrier booms and to use in the clean up of beaches, birds and animals that get oil soaked.

All the information on what donations they can take, and how to sign up to help, is on the web site linked below. Once you sign up to send fiber to the Gulf, you will be sent an address of a warehouse along the coast to which you send the donations of the natural fibers (these fibers are excellent at trapping and cleaning up the catastrophic crude oil pollution). They will accept specific natural fibers...dog grooming hair, beauty salon hair, hair from individuals, wool producers, horse hair, feathers from pillows or poultry operations. You must sign up, through the web page, to get the specific address of the warehouse which is closest to the place where the clean up measures are needed most critically at that time.

Matter of Trust also works in coordinating groups to make the booms out of the donated material...see the links on the web page to their YouTube videos on how to make them. Classrooms and groups are having projects and boom making parties. Please pass this on to others who can help. Do you know beauticians? Do you know dog groomers? Do you have horse hair, wool from sheep or other wool-producing animals, or do you know those who do? Some of the mats and booms can be reused, so donations now will provide long term help in oil clean up measures.

See the link below in the related links section to find out more about this current activity they are organizing.

The following announcement was made by Matter of Trust President, Lisa Gautier:

"ALL WAREHOUSES ARE FULL!"

"Hi - Thanks to all 45,000 businesses and thousands of individuals we have enough hair, fur, fleece and feathers to make more than 25 MILES OF BOOM!

Over 10 miles has already been made by hundreds of volunteers! And it is being deployed in municipalities in Florida and Alabama now. WE NEED MORE VOLUNTEERS :)

We CANNOT TAKE any more boxes of hair, fur or fleece so PLEASE DON'T SEND ANY MORE AT THIS TIME. You have all been AMAZINGLY GENEROUS!"

The organization requests individuals and businesses to continue to sign up at their web site (see link below) as potential future donors so they can be contacted quickly if this emergency requires additional fibers, and if donated warehouse space continues to be available along the Gulf coast.

The BP oil spills happened in:

2006 Prudhoe Bay, Alaska

2010 Gulf Of Mexico, on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, about 130 miles SE of New Orleans, Louisiana.
The BP oil spill started in the Gulf of Mexico.

The gulf oil spill started on the 20th April 2010.

approximately 11:00 pm.
april 12 see link
The most notable oil spill of 2010 was the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, occurring on April 20.

Other Oil spills of 2010 include:

• Yellow River oil spill in China, started on 30 December 2009 and continued in 2010
• Port Arthur oil spill in Texas, started 23 January
• Great Barrier Reef oil spill off Australia, started 3 April
• ExxonMobil oil spill in Nigeria, ruptured pipeline on 1 May.
• Trans-Alaska Pipeline spill, near Anchorage, Alaska, 25 May.
• MT Bulunga Kelana 3, Malaysia, started 25 May.
• Red Sea oil spill in Egypt, started on 15 June
• Red Butte Creek oil spill, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 11 June.
• Xingang Port oil spill in China, Started on 16July.
• Talmadge Creek, Kalamazoo, Michigan on 26July.
• Barataria Bay, Louisiana, 50 miles south of New Orleans. 27 July to present day.
• Mumbai Oil Spill. August 7.

1,2. Any of the Gulf of Mexico Oil spills

3. The Gulf War oil spill.

see related questions.
April 20, 2010
At approximately 9:45 p.m. on April 20, 2010
The huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico took place on Tuesday, April 20, 2010.
There have been two major oil spills in the Gulf Of Mexico:

April 20, 2010: BP Deepwater Horizon (Macondo Blowout) Oil spill.

June 3, 1979 : Ixtoc I oil spill.

Minor spills:

September 16, 2004: Taylor Energy wells. Hurricane Ivan caused leaks to 26 wells near Louisiana.

June 8, 1990: Mega Borg SE of Galveston. Explosions in a tanker's pump room caused fire and oil spills while transferring oil

October 23, 2007: Kab 101 - Storms caused damage to Kab 101 causing collisions, leaks resulting in evacuation of oil rigs.

The 2010 BP oil spill was initiated by a methane leak which ignited and exploded on the oil rig. The resulting, explosive event took the lives of 11 platform workers and injured 17 additional people. The valve gave out on April 20th, 2010 but the oil rig ship sank two days later (April 22nd, 2010). The oil leak continued to July 15, 86 days. The oil spill continues to exist to the present day.
It started April 20 2010

If what I've read is correct, it's not a matter of the oil coming out of the mouth of the pipe, but leaks in the pipe where the pipe has cracked. That would also be a factor.

The BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is primarily the direct result of a well blowout. What exactly caused the blowout is still not clear, but is most often described as a series of failures, all of which may not yet have been identified. BP has stated that the catastrophe occurred because a series of measures, that should have prevented a blowout, failed.

The blowout (uncontrolled high pressure flow of oil and gases), occurred at approximately 9:51 pm on April 20, 2010, followed by fire and explosions on the rig floor (causes not yet definitive), and following that, on April 21, the BP Deepwater Horizon rig sank.

As a well is drilled, precautions are taken so fluids from formation can not enter the well. There were no problems several days earlier when the rig drilled through the productive zone. They had heavy drilling "mud" in the well that kept the fluids from entering the well-bore.

After drilling through the productive zone and then a further few hundred feet below it, they cemented in a liner (production tubing). Haliburton, a contractor working on the well, had finished cementing in a production casing when abnormal pressures were detected in the marine riser.

As they were waiting for the cement to harden, they circulated in lighter weight fresh sea water where the heavy mud had been, and hours later, there was an influx of hydrocarbons (Methane) coming either from the bottom of the well, through the float collar, or at the top of the well. It was a known "gassy" reservoir of oil. This methane was able to push through the sea water where the heavy mud had been and rushed out of the drill pipe, through the seal assembly.

The "blowout preventer" (BOP) failed to actuate and the Emergency Disconnect System, designed to unlatch the riser from the BOP, also failed when it encountered the pressures of over 115,000 psi.

Oil continued to blowout and land on the rig. Fire is presumed to have begun in the engine room and, fueled by the oil on the rig, went out of control. 11 people working on the rig were killed, and the survivors were unable to stop the fire.

Because of the fire or the explosion, a wellhead was damaged, the drilling rig collapsed, breaking the piping that connected the drill to the well approximately 5000 ft below sea level. This allowed oil to begin to gush directly into the ocean. The fail safes that are supposed to protect the environment and people in this type of situation failed, or were inadequate under the deep well conditions.

Long Term causes

Poor US laws regulating off shore drilling, especially in very deep locations, and complete failure of the Federal agency responsible for inspection and enforcing those laws, Minerals Management Service (MMS), also contributed. The technology for drilling as deeply as this well is not well proven, and what safety measures could have helped either failed, or were not in place.

Self regulation of the industry, allowed by MMS is another factor. Operating in waters this deep is obviously dangerous and full of risk. Current regulation could not prevent this or similar disasters indicating a strong need for regulatory reform and oversight.

Until more information is revealed, the full causes are still speculative. Many more details should be available after a full inquiry is made.

See related links and related questions below for more information and discussion of opinions on the social and political aspects that influence this subject.