Preview

The Economic Impact of the BP Oil Spill

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2342 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Economic Impact of the BP Oil Spill
The Economic Impact of the BP Oil Spill In April of 2010, a British Petroleum operated oil drilling rig off the Gulf of Mexico, the Deepwater Horizon, exploded suddenly after high pressure methane gas from the oil well rose to the drilling rig, causing it to ignite and then sink to the bottom of the ocean floor. The explosion caused a sea-floor level oil blowout, and crude oil was leaked into the surrounding water for three months before a solution was found. After eighty-seven long days, the wellhead was finally capped, and the oil from the well was contained. In the three month span it took BP to figure out a solution to this catastrophic problem, approximately 4.9 million barrels of gasoline were dumped into the water. This oil spill is considered to be one of the largest human caused disasters of our time, and is the largest accidental marine oil spill in history. The spill caused extensive damage to surrounding water and beaches, which is an area that many industries depend on to operate their businesses. States on the coast ranging from Florida to Texas immediately felt the impact of this spill on their economies through their fishing, real estate, offshore drilling, and tourism industries. While the Deepwater Horizon oil spill negatively impacted some industries, some industries were actually able to benefit from it. Environmental Service firms have thrived since the spill, causing their industry to grow. While it may seem that only those states on the coast would be affected, the spill actually impacted the United States as a whole, as Congress is having to reevaluate certain laws dealing with how offshore oil drillers are liable for their economic damages relating to an oil spill. The BP oil spill in 2010 economically affected many industries throughout the country, both regional and national, in both positive and negative ways.
1. Negative Economic Impacts of the Oil Spill Almost immediately after news of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill broke,
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Bp Oil Spill
    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Bp Oil Spill

    H > E > B Because of this oil spill, the ocean and the wild life that relies on the area took a major hit, and the environment remains in constant turmoil. The main sphere affected was the hydrosphere, which in turn, affected the ocean currents, and in turn, affected the climates of the area. Because the oil sank so far below the surface of the water (almost a mile below), it basically acted like the water of the area. Not only have this, but the climates of the area, because of the lack of wildlife, and increased carbon in the water, increased global climate change tenfold. Legislation attempting to address the effects of climate change has been a long…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Discussion
    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Discussion

    The oil spill disaster in the gulf took a huge toll on the price of fuel in the United States. Most people felt that seeing gas prices steadily increase was a way for oil companies to make huge profits, and though gas companies did make large profits, the situation at hand was more serious than ever imagined. Initially, no one truly understood the significance of the spill and how much oil was actually leaking into the gulf; however finding out the large amount of oil being lost made me realize the severity of the situation. I don’t think it was all about making money, but rather BP not being proactive to handle a situation that they knew had the…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Bp and Oil Spill
    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Bp and Oil Spill

    BP was the ªrst of these companies to change from a reactive to a proactive…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Fracking In Margaret Fuller's Summer On The Gulf Of Mexico
    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Fracking In Margaret Fuller's Summer On The Gulf Of Mexico

    With methods such as fracking being used to excavate the oil that is used today, damage done to the environment and different species of animals is inevitable with controversial methods. As an example of damage done to the environment, a very impactful incident which affected the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 was the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon. The Deepwater Horizon was an oil rig which exploded and caused massive damage among the surrounding…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Bp Oil Spill
    • 1713 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Bp Oil Spill

    The BP Oil Spill has been a huge environmental issue; it was the worst oil disaster in US history. The government estimated up to 2.6 million gallons per day with a total of 205.8 million got into the gulf. Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida all had miles on miles of surface oil problems. BP put nearly 2 million gallons of chemical “dispersants” into the ocean, which actually make the oil more toxic to ocean life. It’s considered and environmental issue because of its massive amount of damage and was caused by humans, the oil company. The spill made more than 1,000 miles of shoreline covered in oil.…

    • 1713 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Current Ethical Issues on Oil Spill
    • 1476 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Current Ethical Issues on Oil Spill

    Today, with the continual and rapidly growing need of energy demand by big nations like United States and China continuing to furnish their domestic consumptions of oil have led to increased prices of gasoline whereby alternative forms of energy production are sought. With this in mind, offshore drilling can be a viable option for satiating the need of oil and also to boost the economy of the nation. In this report, I am going to discuss how the current Deepwater Horizon rig explosion has led to disastrous oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico causing environmental problems and also discuss how the oil spill if resolved and with safe and secure drilling techniques, the economic impact of offshore drilling can outweigh the environmental issues.…

    • 1476 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Bp Oil Spill
    • 2831 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Bp Oil Spill

    The BP Oil Spill “Thank God men cannot fly and lay waste to sky, as well as the earth,” said Henry David Thoreau on environmental damage. The BP, or British Petroleum, Gulf oil spill has been widely referred to as the biggest environmental disaster that the United States has ever faced, with over four million gallons of oil pouring into the waters off the Mexican Gulf Coast. The BP oil spill occurred in April of 2010. It was, and still is, the biggest oil spill in all of U.S. history. The massive spill wreaked havoc on Gulf Coast inhabitants, including animals, plants, and humans, in late April. Most of the sea life in the Gulf Coast waters perished, drowning in the oil that has monopolized the waters. The BP oil spill has been rated one of the biggest environmental disasters of this century. To examine what contributed to this title, and to stop another disaster like this from happening again, the public must look at how it happened and why, the economic and environmental impact, and the cost of cleaning it up.…

    • 2831 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gulf Oil Spill Research Paper
    • 136 Words
    • 1 Page

    Gulf Oil Spill Research Paper

    The Gulf Oil Spill took place in the spring of 2010 and is known as one of the most devastating environmental disasters in American history. The Gulf Oil Spill took place on the Deepwater Horizon/BP MC252 drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico which had an explosion and killed 11 workers and this caused the drilling platform to sink. The explosion caused oil to leak into the Gulf of Mexico and nearly 134 million gallons of oil was released into the Gulf. Oil traveled all the way to the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The marine life was severely depleted; the oil killed marine life, birds, and other animals who depend on the Gulf. This environmental disaster showed some major downsides to globalization, which is the…

    • 136 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Exxon Valdez Case Study
    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Exxon Valdez Case Study

    1. What has happened to the key players since the events in this case? Since the events occurred in this case, there were many victims including wildlife & marine life, the environment, the fishermen, and the economy of the region. This event devastated the wildlife in the Prince William’s Sound by covering the natural habitat with over 11 million gallons of oil. Many wildlife species had perished during the oil spill and some have still not returned. The natural resources still have not recovered from the disaster. The fishermen, who have relied on the Prince William Sound, are still not able to make a living due to restraints placed on them by the federal government. The federal government has banned the fishing of certain species of marine life due to their slow recovery from the oil spill. Despite the money that was awarded to the victims, there still is not enough to cover the debts of the fishermen and to recover the economy. Even though Exxon agreed to plead guilty of criminal charges and to pay restitution for the damages caused, the litigation had reached the Supreme Court. This disaster had no effect on the company’s profits or stock price despite the large fines imposed. Even when damages were imposed on Exxon, with $5 billion in punitive damages, the company still continued to grow. The Supreme Court had outraged the victims by cutting the punitive damages amount of $5 billion to a minimal amount of about $500,000.…

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Exxon Valdez And Prince William Sound Essay
    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Exxon Valdez And Prince William Sound Essay

    What has happened to the key players since the events in this case? Since the events in the subject case, the environment continues to be the victims. The natural resources of Prince William Sound County have not recovered. Many people who relied on finishing as way of earning their living are still unable to make ends meet because the government has prohibited the fishing of specifies that have not recovered from the spill. The money that was given to the victims was not enough to pay the debts owed on the fishing boats. There has been ongoing litigation on both sides reaching all the way to the Supreme Court. The incident did not drive the company out of business even when large punitive damages were imposed. The Exxon Mobile kept on growing. The corporation argued that punitive damages in excess of $25 millions are excessive. The original $5 billion in punitive damages has been gradually reduces by the courts through ongoing legal battle.…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    BP Oil Spill
    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages

    BP Oil Spill

    Not only did this horrifying disaster affect the United States, but it also affected several other countries involved/invested in BP. Tourism slowed along the whole coastline of the United States. This surprising tragedy killed eleven innocent people in its path to killing numerous animals and the beauty of the Gulf.…

    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Oil Spills In The United States
    • 1288 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Oil Spills In The United States

    There have been numerous oil spills all over the world including the United States, Nigeria, and China and are threats of more occurring. There have been several oil spills to occur in the United States but two of the most well known major oil spills in happen here are the Exxon oil spill and the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In March of 1989 an oil tanker called Exxon Valdez created a massive oil spill after running into a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska (Fontugne 2015). Over eleven million gallons of crude oil was poured into Alaskan waters. Due to increased fossil fuel exploration, such as fracking, in various places near Arctic waters, including Alaska, there is now an even larger risk of potential oil spills happening there (National Research Council (U.S.) 2014). The National Research Council claims that if there were to be an oil spill in U.S. Arctic waters the U.S. would not be prepared for it. The British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened in on April 20, 2010 resulting after a drilling rig located in the Gulf of Mexico experienced an explosion. The event caused the death of eleven workers and around 4.9 million barrels of crude oil to be sent into the Gulf of Mexico (Wilson 2014). Niger Delta, Nigeria experiences approximately “240,000 barrels of crude oil” being poured into it every year (Ordinioha and Brisibe 2013). This has caused major health complications to those…

    • 1288 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Oil Spill Mitigation Planning and Monetary Recovery
    • 2518 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Oil Spill Mitigation Planning and Monetary Recovery

    Abstract FOSSA A (2012) Saint Petersburg College Oil spill mitigation planning and monetary recovery A small Gulf Coast Community in Florida has requested the implementation of a contingency plan in the event of an oil spill that affects the coast line. This paper discusses the regulations, and laws that govern an oil spill and who is responsible for monetary and geographical land damage. Who will be the responsible party to clean up and restore the coast line back to its natural condition? Who is responsible for reimbursement for lost revenues due to an oil spill along the coast line? What types of legal remedies are there for financial relief of lost revenues to business and citizens of the community? What types of policies should be created to protect the financial variables and geographic location. How much will the implementation of a plan cost. How can we implement these items and maintain a plan that protects the financial and geography of this community?…

    • 2518 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Internet Paper
    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Internet Paper

    The negative consequences of the oil spill was that BP was now responsible for worst oil spill in history, economic and environmental damage across 4 U.S States. The oil spill caused damage to wildlife due to the volume of oil that had spilled into the gulf. Thousands of dead birds were washed on the shores, their feathers drenched in the sticky oil, along with dead sea turtles. Another consequence was an economic impact. BP spent around $6 million dollars per day trying to clean up the aftermath. At current predictions, BP’s stock has lost over $32 billion dollars, with further losses to come. BP was previously known as the oil company with the most environmentally friendly image, which is now damaged due to this oil spill. Another consequence was an increase in the price of seafood. Many fisheries in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana were threatened by the effects of the BP oil spill. The toxic oil could affect the…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Exxon Case Study
    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Exxon Case Study

    Exxon Case Study In the early morning of March 24th 1989 the Exxon Valdez a tanker carrying 55 million gallons crashed into Bligh Reef which is part of Prince William Sound. Prince William Sound is a small isolated town in the outskirts of Alaska. The Exxon Valdez spilled over 38,000 gallons into the waters of Prince William Sound. The toxins from the oil injured 33,000 people and eventually killed 8,000 Alaskan fishermen after years of suffering from side effects from the spill. The Valdez’s accident ending up costing Exxon 2.5 billon dollars in damages and went down as one of the most devastating environmental disasters but it is how Exxon choose to handle it that also made this event one of the biggest mistakes in public relations history.…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics