It is usually a comparison one sees quite often since now, it has been close to a month now since Deepwater Horizon exploded into the Gulf of Mexico, and the amount of oil leaking from the underwater reservoir is approaching levels not seen since the Exxon Valdez. With the inevitable comparisons between the two events end up coming the inevitable politics to folow.
The politics I’m talking about can be the obvious “who will pay?” politics to figure out the kind of punitive damages that BP will be left with after they cover the cost of cleanup, to Governor Schwarzenegger withdrawing support for offshore drilling off the coast of California. In some cases, and even a more odd case to me is an instance where Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks went back to the 2008 election campaign and bashed Sarah Palin on her “Drill Baby Drill” slogan, although it went a little beyond that.
As for comparisons, lets get the obvious out of the way. Exxon Valdez is a ship, Deepwater Horizon is an offshore drilling platform. The only reason I make this blindingly obvious comparison is because I have seen people try and make arguments, while disregarding the fact that the only actual similarities are the fact there is oil on the surface of a body of water, and it has hit land.
Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the Deepwater Horizon platform failure.
The amount of oil that did end up being spilled in Exxon Valdez is estimated to be around 11 million gallons of oil, covering an area of 11,000 square miles and effecting 1,300 miles of coast. The current spill (or leak as one could call it) as a result of the failed Deepwater Horizon is estimated to be leaking 2 million gallons per day into the Gulf of Mexico, covering an area close to 9,000 square miles currently.
One thing to consider though when looking at comparisons between the two events is that while oil is indeed lighter than water, and a lot does make its way to the surface, there is a significant amount of oil that is unseen and wreaking havoc on marine life as low as 3,000 ft below the surface. Scientists are currently estimating that an oil plume about 20 miles long and 5 miles wide is moving out into open ocean. This plume deprives the surrounding waters of much needed oxygen, asphyxiating marine life in its path.
Is it really fair to compare these two oil disasters? I guess if you are living in the United States, then of course it matters. Most news agencies are reporting on the comparisons, but what is missing are other major oil spills. Actually, about 34 other major oil spills that rank worse than the Exxon Valdez in comparison. Here is a quick run-down of the top 10 oil spills, their volume, and where they were located:
- Arabian Gulf/Kuwait - 380 -520 million gallons – Persian Gulf
- Ixtoc 1 Oil Spill – 140 million gallons – Bay of Campeche off Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico
- Atlantic Empress Oil Spill – 90 million gallons – Trinidad and Tobago
- Kovla River Oil Spill – 84 million gallons – Kolva, Russia
- Nowruz Oil Field Spill – 80 million gallons – Persian Gulf
- Castillo de Bellver Oil Spill – 79 million gallons – Saldanha Bay, South Africa
- Amoco Cadiz Oil Spill – 69 million gallons – Portsall, France
- ABT Summer Oil Spill – 51 – 81 million gallons – approximately 700 nautical miles off the coast of Angola
- M/T Haven Tanker Oil Spill - 45 million gallons – Genoa, Italy
- Odyssey Oil Spill – 40.7 million gallons – off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada
What we do notice here is that of the top 10 spills, none are in the United States, which could partially explain the lack of comparisons. Of the top 10, 6 were ship related (tankers leaking oil), one (#4) was a burst pipeline, one (#5) was a boat ramming into an offshore platform, one (#1) was sabotage during the Gulf War, but the most interesting and closest comparison would be the Mexican spill sitting at #2.
The Ixtoc 1 Oil Spill was the result of an offshore rig blowout, similar to Deepwater Horizon. In this case, the well head below the ocean was leaking 10,000 to 30,000 barrels of oil (around 400,000 to 1 million gallons) per day into the ocean. Both spills were in the Gulf of Mexico, although one of the larger worries now with the Deepwater leak, the oil is expected to enter into the Loop current, which will cause the oil to begin travelling up the east coast.
Should this situation happen, it is estimated that the oil will simply be weathered and dilute, however, little would actually be expected to reach the coast itself. It is little relief though since the ecological impact will be massive, but barely seen.
Deepwater Horizon has the potential to become a top 10 for worst oil spill in history. The question to this point is, “How do you make offshore drilling safer?” Realistically, you can’t simply just stop offshore drilling. That would create an economic impact that would hurt us more than just at the gas pumps. Knowing that, how do we continue to reduce our reliance on oil and look towards alternative methods of generating energy?
These are questions I can’t really answer today, but I would certainly welcome a thoughtful discussion on the matter.
