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Oil Spill by the Numbers: A Year Later

Published Apr 20, 2011 10:45 AM by The Maritime Executive

One year ago today (April 20, 2010) the Deepwater Horizon Rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 rigworkers and injuring 17 others. The result of the explosion was a leak that lasted months, spilling millions of barrels of oil into the gulf. 

4.9 million barrels of oil discharged

RESPONSE FACTS:

47, 829 Responders at peak
9,700 vessels at peak
6,500 government and commercial vessels
3,200 vessels of opportunity
3.8 million feet of hard boom deployed
9.7 million feet of soft boom deployed
1.8 million gallons of dispersants used
411 in-situ burns conducted (265,450 barrels of oil burned)
127 surveillance aircraft
4 incident command posts (TX, LA, AL and FL)
17 subordinate branches
32 equipment staging areas
1 aviation coordination center, Tyndall Air Force Base
1.4 million barrels of liquid waste collected
92 tons of solid waste collected

INTERNATIONAL OFFERS OF ASSISTANCE:

47 offers accepted (boom and skimmers)
Governments providing assistance: Canada, Mexico, Norway, Japan, Germany, France, UK, Tunisia, Belgium, Qatar, Kenya, China, Russia, Netherlands, Sweden and the European Union

FATE OF OIL:

4.9 million barrels of oil discharged
800,000 plus barrels oily water recovered
265,000 plus barrels oil removed by in?situ burns
770,000 plus gallons subsea dispersants applied
1.07 million gallons of dispersants applied

CLAIMS & GOVERNMENT PAYMENTS (Provided by BP):

$5,403,868,037 Payments to Individuals, Businesses, and Governments for Advances and Claims 

$5,679,791,533 Total Paid or Approved for Payment 

A more detailed report of BP's Claims and Government payments, including a breakdown of payments to individual states, can be found here. 

AFFECTS ON WILDLIFE*:

5,686 Birds Dead
93 Dolphins Dead
3 Whales Dead
546 Sea Turtles Dead

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SOURCES: U.S. Gov.: RestoreTheGulf.gov, BP, National Wildlife Federation
 

*More than 8,000 birds, sea turtles and marine mammals were found injured or dead in the 6 months after the spill. Scientists say the true numbers will never be known as surely some wildlife disappeared without being observed or collected. In addition the National Wildlife Federation says that the long-term affects of the 2 million gallons of chemical dispersants may not be known for a number of years (National Wildlife Federation, 2011).