Deepwater Horizon Explosion

The Deepwater Horizon explosion occurred on April 20, 2010, when a BP-operated drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico suffered a catastrophic blowout, killing 11 workers and injuring 17 others. The explosion triggered the largest marine oil spill in history, releasing an estimated 4.9 million barrels (210 million gallons) of crude oil into the Gulf over 87 days before the well was capped on July 15, 2010. The disaster contaminated over 1,300 miles of shoreline across five states, devastated marine ecosystems, killed thousands of birds and sea turtles, and crippled the Gulf Coast fishing and tourism industries. BP ultimately paid over $65 billion in cleanup costs, fines, and legal settlements, including the largest corporate settlement in U.S. history. The incident exposed serious failures in offshore drilling safety regulations and led to major reforms in the oil industry.