The legacy of the Deepwater Horizon disaster

Nonprofit ocean conservation organisation Oceana has revealed the destructive legacy of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which marked its 15th anniversary on Easter Sunday, April 20.

The Deepwater Horizon disaster still remains the worst oil spill in US history, with 11 people tragically killed in the rig explosion that caused one of the most damaging environmental catastrophes the country has ever seen.

Oil gushed from the seafloor for 87 days, spewing 134m gallons into the Gulf of Mexico. Toxic sludge washed up on 1,300m of shoreline, from Texas to Florida, oiling beaches and wetlands and killing tens of thousands of birds, sea turtles, and dolphins, among other marine life.

In its research, Oceana found that the oil spill’s deep-sea footprint covered an area almost nine times greater than previously reported. The spill spread over 2,860 sq km of ocean, which equates to nearly 50 times the size of Manhattan. The impact of the spill also led to the loss of more than 25,000 jobs and $2.3bn in industry output.

Oceana noted that the small dolphin population densities declined by up to 43%, while those of sperm whales declined by up to 31%. The population density of Cuvier’s beaked whales and Gervais’ beaked whales declined by 75% and 83%, respectively. Some Gulf fish species, such as white marlin, showed little to no recovery.

In their research, the conservation organisation reported that US Coast Guard service members involved in the cleanup suffered from long-term endocrine and metabolic conditions.

“On this solemn 15th anniversary, we face a new deluge of misguided efforts to expand offshore drilling into new and deeper areas that would risk more catastrophes. Oceana calls on lawmakers to reject any drilling expansion and permanently protect our coasts from offshore drilling,” said Oceana campaign director Joseph Gordon.

“This anniversary is not just a memory of what was lost, but a call to protect what remains and fight for a healthy Gulf free from fossil fuels,” added Breon Robinson, Southwest Louisiana/Southeast Texas organiser for Healthy Gulf.

These messages, however, fell on deaf ears as the secretary of the Department of the Interior, Doug Burgum, launched the country’s 11th Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing program only a day after Oceana’s report came out.

More than 7,300 oil spills occurred in federal waters between 2010 and 2022 — an average of over one spill every day, either during exploration, production, or transportation.

A poll released by Oceana in July 2024 revealed that two-thirds of American voters (64%) support their elected officials protecting U.S. coastlines from new offshore drilling, with similar support among registered voters in coastal states (66%).