BRITISH PETROLEUM
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, operated by British
Petroleum Plc (BP) in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded and killed 11
workers. Around 3.2 million barrels of oil spilled into the ocean –
polluting water, destroying beaches, and killing wildlife. The Deepwater
Horizon explosion became the worst environmental disaster in US
history. Related costs for BP had amounted to over USD 60 billion by
mid-2016. This amount far exceeds the costs of the 1989 Exxon-Valdez
spill, which had been considered one of the worst environmental
disasters in US history, and had cost Exxon around USD 4.3 billion.
April 20 2010
• Massive explosion on the Deepwater Horizon. Eleven workers killed
in worst environmental disaster in US history.
June 10 2010
• BP agrees to put USD 20 billion into an escrow fund to settle
economic injury claims. More than 225 lawsuits are filed in 11 US
states.
• March 2012
• BP reaches USD 7.8 billion settlement with businesses and
individuals harmed by the spill.
• January 2013
• BP pleads guilty to manslaughter and other criminal charges and
receives a USD 4 billion fine. By 2013, BP has dropped from the
second to the fourth-largest of the four major oil companies.
September 2014
• A US District Court finds BP guilty of gross negligence and willful
misconduct under the Clean Water Act.
• October 2015
• BP agrees to pay 20.8 billion to settle the lawsuit with the US
Department of Justice.
March 2016
• BP’s share price has still not returned to pre-spill levels. Civil suits are
pending against the company, including a fraud lawsuit filed by
investors who allege that BP downplayed the extent of the oil spill.
EXXON VALDEZ OIL SPILL
• In March of 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground on
Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska.
• At 0004 on March 24, 1989, the 987-foot tank vessel Exxon Valdez
struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. What followed was
the largest oil spill in U.S. history: over ten million gallons of crude oil
flooded one of the nation’s most sensitive ecosystems in less than
five hours.
• The oil slick has scattered over 3,000 square miles and onto over 350
miles of shoreline in Prince William Sound alone. The initial response
was slow and insufficient. Major steps have were taken to clean up
the spill, and these efforts will continue throughout the years.
• Crude Oil spilled into the frozen Alaskan waters at a rate of two
hundred thousand gallons per minute. The remaining forty-two
million gallons were off loaded. In the ensuing days, more than
1,200 miles of shoreline were hit with oil.
What happened to the oil?
• 20% evaporated and underwent photolysis in the atmosphere
• 50% biodegraded either in situ on beaches or in the water column
• 14% recovered or disposed
• < 1% remained in the water column (except as biodegradation
products)
• 2% remained on intertidal shorelines (with a very large proportion of
this as highly weathered, biologically inert residuals)
• ~13% remained in subtidal sediments, mostly in the GOA and mostly
as highly weathered residuals.
Who cleaned up the oil spill?
• Selected Exxon Contractors and their Purpose/Service
• Contractors Purpose/Service Provided
• Catering Contractors International Catering for all vessels
• Chemical Waste Management, Inc. Oily waste disposal
• Chugach/ Nana/Marriott Catering and housekeeping
• Crawford and Company Vessel and aircraft tracking
• Crowley Marine Corporation Vessel services
• Ensco Marine Company Vessel services
• ERA Aviation, Inc. Helicopter services
• Gulf Fleet Marine Operations Vessel services
• Martech USA, Inc. Vessel services
• Otto Candies, Inc. Vessel services
• Tidex Corporation Vessel services
• VECO General contractor
• Woodward Clyde Consultants Scientific research services
What happened to Joseph Hazelwood?
Joseph Hazelwood, captain of the T/V Exxon Valdez, was convicted of a
misdemeanor charge of negligent discharge of oil, fined $50,000, and
sentenced to 1,000 hours of community service, which he served in
Anchorage, Alaska at Bean’s Café, a non-profit agency providing meals
for the homeless.
For more than fifteen years, he was employed as a maritime consultant
and paralegal with Chalos & Brown, the New York law firm that
represented him.
SUNNINGDALE TANKER ACCIDENT June 2011
• 11 people died 3 on the spot
• A tanker carrying 35 000litres of petrol overturned whilst avoiding a
collision with an on coming car.
• The tanker exploded 40 minutes later
• The explosion gutted a commuter omnibus 20 meters away.
Bulawayo CBD
• Description: Fire broke out in May at an unlicensed service station in
Bulawayo during a petrol delivery.
• Cause: Ignition possibly caused by non-flame proof electric motor
used to drive a discharge pump from plastic containers into
underground tanks.
• Injuries: Nil
• Damages: Fuel delivery vehicle and parked vehicles on the premises.
• Observations: Retailer was operating without a license. He was
prosecuted and the site was closed until retailer obtained a license
after 6 weeks.
LPG Fire Explosions
• Nkulumane Household Fire Accident, Bulawayo.
• Description: An LPG cooker top cylinder exploded during cooking resulting in a fire that
burnt down the kitchen and sitting room of a seven roomed house in Nkulumane.
• Cause: The accident was caused by use of a defective cooker top cylinder which was
overdue revalidation.
• Injuries: The housewife was burnt on the arms trying to recover property from the burning
house.
• Damages: All household property in kitchen and sitting room destroyed. The roof and walls
of the two rooms were brought down.
• Observation: The retailer who filled the gas cylinder was not licensed. He could not be
positively located since no receipts were used for gas purchases. If the retailer was licensed
he would have stopped continued use of the cylinder as required by LPGas Standard ZWS
960 Part 3 of 2012.
•
TYPES OF EXPLOSIONS
• Confined vapor cloud explosion (CVCE): An explosion in a vessel or a building caused
due to release of high pressure or chemical energy.
• Vapor cloud explosion (VCE): Explosion caused by instantaneous burning of vapor cloud
formed in air due to release of flammable chemicals.
• Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE): Explosion caused due to
instantaneous release of large amounts of vapor through narrow opening under pressurized
conditions.
Vented explosion (VE): Explosion due to high speed venting of chemicals.
• Dust explosion: Explosion resulting from rapid combustion of fine solid particles.
Distinguish a fire and an explosion
crisis management
• five phases namely
• signal detection,
• preparation and prevention,
• containment and damage limitation,
• recovery,
• learning.
• mitigation, planning, and warning
• crisis mitigation, planning, warning, response, and recovery
Lessons learnt
• Contingency plan
• Training
• Prevention
