QUESTIONS:

1. Write your opinion on what is the main cause of the oil spill.

2. Based on your answer in paragraph 1, explain and justify your opinion (what makes you think that is the main cause).

3. Based on the writing in the article, who should be blamed or held accountable for this oil spill accident. Explain/justify your answer.

Deepwater Horizon oil spill Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also called Gulf of Mexico oil spill, largest marine oil spill in history, caused by an April 20, 2010, explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig located in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 41 miles (66 km) off the coast of Louisiana -and its subsequent sinking on April 22. Q Deepwater Horizon oil rig: fire Fireboat response crews attempting to extinguish the blaze aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, April 21, 2010. U.S. Coast Guard Q The explosion The Deepwater Horizon rig, owned and operated by offshore-oil-drilling company Transocean and leased by oil company BP, was situated in the Macondo oil prospect in the Mississippi Canyon, a valley in the continental shelf. The oil well over which it was positioned was located on the seabed 4,993 feet (1,522 metres) below the surface and TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction The explosion Leaking oil Cleanup efforts Aftermath and impact Legal action Environmental costs The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in pictures extended approximately 18,000 feet (5,486 metres) into the rock. On the night of April 20 a surge of natural gas blasted through a concrete core recently installed by contractor Halliburton in order to seal the well for later use. It later emerged through documents released by Wikileaks that a similar incident had occurred on a BP-owned rig in the Caspian Sea in September 2008. Both cores were likely too weak to withstand the pressure because they were composed of a concrete mixture that used nitrogen gas to accelerate curing. Once released by the fracture of the core, the natural gas traveled up the Deepwater rig's riser to the platform, where it ignited, killing 11 workers and injuring 17. The rig capsized and sank on the