# Canonical recap data for Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Explosion (2010)
# Source: https://recap.at/2010/deepwater-horizon
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: deepwater-horizon
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/2010/deepwater-horizon"
title: Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Explosion
subtitle: The catastrophic platform failure spills 4.9 million barrels into the Gulf of Mexico, becoming the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history and reshaping offshore drilling policy.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 2010-04-20
datePrecision: day
year: 2010
decade: 2010
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire occurred on the Deepwater Horizon semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit, which was owned and operated by Transocean and drilling for BP in the Macondo Prospect oil field about 40 miles (64 km) southeast off the Louisiana coast. The explosion and subsequent fire resulted
summaryLong: On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire occurred on the Deepwater Horizon semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit, which was owned and operated by Transocean and drilling for BP in the Macondo Prospect oil field about 40 miles (64 km) southeast off the Louisiana coast. The explosion and subsequent fire resulted in the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon and the deaths of 11 workers; 17 others were injured. The same blowout that caused the explosion also caused an oil well fire and a massive offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, considered the largest accidental marine oil spill of all time, and the largest environmental disaster in United States history.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Deepwater_Horizon_offshore_drilling_unit_on_fire_2010.jpg/1280px-Deepwater_Horizon_offshore_drilling_unit_on_fire_2010.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Deepwater Horizon explosion"
importance: 76
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_explosion"
  title: Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- disaster
metaDescription: On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire occurred on the Deepwater Horizon semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit, which was owned and operated by Trans
wikidataQid: Q3656148
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20100630122407/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_explosion"
  capturedAt: 2010-06-30
  label: Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_explosion"
