May 28, 2019 ▸ Conspiracy, Corporation, Disaster

Episode 389: Deepwater Horizon: Tragedy and Incompetence

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On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we talk about the largest maritime oil spill in human history, the tragedy and incompetence of the Deepwater Horizon. The Deepwater Horizon was a deep-sea oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, about forty miles from the coast of Louisiana. On April 20, 2010, an explosion rocked the platform, killing 11 and forcing an evacuation. Two days later, the rig sank. This was a bad enough tragedy, but the real horror started when nobody was able to seal the oil well, and every failsafe failed. It was the perfect storm.

The normal procedures to shear off the pipe in case of dangerous pressure failed. The robots they sent down to seal it manually failed. The 250 ton concrete dome failed. Back filling it with heavy mud failed. Wishful thinking and corporate lies failed. All that was left was a well that spewed thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf every day. BP claimed it was a 1000 barrels, but some government estimates are between 60,000 to over 100,000.

This spill destroyed wildlife by the thousands, grounded dolphins and whales, shut down beaches in several states, and almost killed already endangered species. What was perhaps worse than the oil itself were the chemicals they spread on the oil to make it sink to the bottom of the sea. Did this help the environment? Not at all. Did it help the companies pay less because they were able to hide the true amount of spilled oil? Absolutely!

So, who was to blame? That is where it gets tricky. The rig was divided up to different companies which all did different jobs on this particular well. Transocean, British Petroleum (BP), Anadarko, Halliburton, and M-I SWACO all had their hands in the pot. They also all lied about the amount of oil being spilled and pointed fingers at each other. But in spite of all of that, who was really at fault?

BP, really. Their smug CEO got fired, they lost a quarter of their earnings for the year, and they got spanked by different government agencies. But at the end of the day, they still killed people, animals, and ecosystems and lied about it with only a slap on the wrist. If you want corporate conspiracy and malfeasance in a podcast, this is the episode for you! This one even has Russia and nukes!

Various Lawsuits: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/deepwater-horizon-bp-gulf-mexico-oil-spill

Good Site: https://ocean.si.edu/conservation/pollution/gulf-oil-spill