Deepwater Horizon

 On April 20, 2010, the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, operating in the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded and sank resulting in the death of 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon and the largest spill of oil in the history of marine oil drilling operations. Fireboat response crews battling the blazing remnants of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, April 21, 2010.

The evening of April 20, 2010, a well control event allowed hydrocarbons to escape from the Macondo well onto Transocean's Deepwater Horizon, resulting in explosions and fire on the rig. Eleven people lost their lives, and 17 others were injured. It was all because of the poor management of the company BP. BP paid the trustees up to $8.8 billion, the largest recovery of damages ever for injuries to natural resources, to restore the Gulf.

BP has been ordered to pay $5.5 billion to settle civil damages claims made by the U.S. as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The amount will be paid over the course of 16 years. The well's reserves could keep it leaking for the next 100 years if it isn't capped, meaning it will one day eclipse the Deepwater Horizon spill in terms of volume. Oil continued to wash ashore in many areas, and much of it could not be removed, either because of logistical reasons.BP and Transocean employees aboard the rig had—while engaged in testing procedures—ignored early indications of a problem and thus missed opportunities to prevent a full-scale blowout. Thousands of birds, mammals, and sea turtles were plastered with leaked oil.