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In the past century, only 4 oil spills surpassed a spill volume of 100 million gallons (about 12% of US oil consumption in 2007, (23)). The Deepwater Horizon disaster may be among them. Estimates for Deepwater Horizon range from 37 – 188 million gallons of oil released over 47 days (22). Worst-case estimates place Deepwater Horizon as the third-worst spill in history. If no solution is found soon, it may become the worst spill of all time.
Top Oil Spills
The worst-ever oil spill as of today was the Gulf War oil spill (22) caused by the Iraq invasion of Kuwait. Nearly 500 million gallons of oil were spilled by tankers, terminals, and wells.
Though estimates conflict, even best-case estimates place the Horizon spill among the worst in history. According to the USGS worst-case flow rate estimate, the total Deepwater Horizon spill for 47 days is 37 million gallons US (3). Associate Professor at Purdue University Steven Wereley told US Congress that Deepwater Horizon is releasing as much as 4 million gallons per day (22), putting the total spill for 47 days at 188 million gallons.
Oil Spills by Date
The data below aggregates GCaptain’s History’s 10 Most Famous Oil Spills (1) with Wikipedia’s Largest Oil Spills (3).
| Name | Date | Location (M/D/Y) | Type | US Gallons Spilled (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeview Gusher (3, 15) | 03/14/1909 | Kern County, CA | well | 378.8 |
| Torrey Canyon (3, 16) | 03/18/1967 | Lands End, England | tanker | 36.1 |
| Sea Star (3, 17) | 12/19/1972 | Gulf of Oman | tanker | 35.4 |
| Urquiola (3, 18) | 05/12/1976 | La Coruna, Spain | tanker | 9.2 |
| Argo Merchant (1, 8) | 12/15/1976 | Nantucket Island, MA | tanker | 7.7 |
| Amoco Cadiz (1) | 03/16/1978 | Brittany, France | tanker | 68.7 |
| Ixtoc I (1, 2, 13) | 06/03/1979 | Bahia de Campeche, Mexico | well | 139.8 |
| Atlantic Express & Aegean Captain (3, 5) | 07/19/1979 | Trinidad & Tobago | tanker | 88.4 |
| Burmah Agate (1, 2, 11) | 11/01/1979 | Galveston Bay, TX | tanker | 2.6 |
| Irenes Serenade (3, 4) | 02/23/1980 | Navarino Bay, Greece | tanker | 30.8 |
| Nowruz Oil Field (3, 19, 20) | 02/10/1983 | Persian Gulf | tanker, well | 80.1 |
| Castillo de Bellver (3, 4) | 08/06/1983 | Saldanha Bay, South Africa | tanker | 77.6 |
| Odyssey (3, 4) | 11/10/1988 | Off Nova Scotia, Canada | tanker | 40.7 |
| Exxon Valdez (1, 2, 12) | 03/24/1989 | Gulf of Mexico | tanker | 11.4 |
| Barge Cibro Savannah (1, 10) | 03/06/1990 | Linden, NJ | tanker | 0.7 |
| Megaborg (1, 2, 14) | 06/08/1990 | Gulf of Mexico off Galveston, TX | tanker | 5.1 |
| Gulf War Oil Spill (1, 7) | 01/23/1991 | Persian Gulf | tankers, terminals, wells | 462 |
| Haven (3, 21) | 04/11/1991 | Genoa, Italy | tanker | 44.4 |
| ABT Summer (3, 4) | 05/28/1991 | Angola | tanker | 80.1 |
| Fergana Valley (3, 6) | 03/02/1993 | Uzbekistan | well | 87.8 |
| Barge Bouchard 155 (1, 9) | 08/10/1993 | Tampa Bay, FL | tanker | 0.3 |
| Deepwater Horizon (3, 22) | 04/20/2010 | Gulf of Mexico | well | 188 |
References
- History’s 10 Most Famous Oil Spills - GCaptain
- List of oil spills - Wikipedia
- Oil Spill - Wikipedia
- The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited
- Tanker Incidents - Maritime Connector
- Oil Spill History - Mariner Group
- Gulf War Oil Spill - Wikipedia
- Argo Merchant - IncidentNews
- Barge Bouchard 155 - IncidentNews
- Barge Cibro Savannah - IncidentNews
- Bermah Agate - IncidentNews
- T/V Exxon Valdez - IncidentNews
- IXTOX I - IncidentNews
- M/V Megaborg - IncidentNews
- Lakeview Gusher - Wikipedia
- Torrey Canyon - IncidentNews
- Sea Star - IncidentNews
- Urquiola - IncidentNews
- [Nowruz Oil Field - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nowruz_(oil_field)
- Nowruz Oil Field - IncidentNews
- T/V Haven - IncidentNews
- Deepwater Horizon - Wikipedia
- Oil consumption by country - NationMaster.com
Comments
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February 8, 2013, 9:08a.m.
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