Deepwater Horizon: In Their Own Words

Deepwater Horizon: In Their Own Words narrates the catastrophic incidence of an oil-rig in the Gulf of Mexico which exploded and was engulfed in a inferno of flames. Combining rare archival footage and interviews with real Deepwater Horizon crew workers, the harrowing story entails the details of the explosion and those who gave their lives to ensure others would survive.

It was a otherwise quiet day on the 20th April 2010, while drilling at the Macondo Prospect, a blowout at 7:45 p.m. caused an explosion. During the final phases of drilling the exploratory well at Macondo, a geyser of seawater erupted from the marine riser onto the rig, shooting 70 m into the air. This was soon followed by the eruption of a slushy combination of drilling mud, methane gas, and water. The gas component of the slushy material quickly transitioned into a fully gaseous state and then ignited into a series of explosions and then a firestorm. The resulting inferno blasted a fireball into the sky which was visible from 40 miles (64 km) away.

Eleven workers were presumed killed in the initial explosion. The rig was evacuated, with injured workers airlifted to medical facilities. After approximately 36 hours, Deepwater Horizon sank on 22 April 2010. The remains of the rig were located resting on the seafloor approximately 1,500 m deep at that location, and about 400 m northwest of the well. The resultant oil spill continued until 15 July when it was closed by a cap. Relief wells were used to permanently seal the well, which was declared “effectively dead” on 19 September 2010.

Since the catastrophic event, BP Oil, Transocean, and Halliburton (all owners of the rig), were sued by the US government for gross negligence, violations of the US Clean Water Act, etc..

Transocean agreed to pay US$1.4 billion for violations of the US Clean Water Act, Halliburton agreed to settle a large percentage of legal claims against them by paying $1.1 billion into a trust by way of three installments over two years, and BP estimated that it would pay roughly $7.8 billion to compensate victims.