Warning that BP Deepwater Horizon disaster could happen again

The BP Deepwater Horizon disaster that spilled more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, killing trillions of fish, could happen again.

That’s the verdict of a new report from Oceana, the international advocacy organisation dedicated to ocean conservation, published on the 13th anniversary of one of the worst environmental disasters in history.

The BP explosion in 2010 killed 11 workers and polluted 1,300 miles of Gulf Coast shoreline, from Texas to Florida. Recreational and commercial fishing was shut down for months.

But the report highlights the fact that President Joe Biden has yet to deliver on his campaign promise to prevent new offshore oil and gas drilling in US waters, and that a similar disaster remains possible.

“It’s as if we learned nothing from the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster,” Oceana Campaign Director Diane Hoskins told Jose Antunes for the National Fisherman website. “We know that when oil companies drill, they spill.

“It’s not a matter of if there will be another spill, but when. And those spills bring immediate economic and environmental devastation to our coastal communities.

”More than two years into his presidency, Biden has yet to uphold his promise on offshore drilling. Continued leasing harms our health, pollutes our air and environment, and exacerbates the climate crisis.”

The 13-page report finds that President Biden can still prevent new oil and gas leases in 2024 and beyond. It also finds that offshore drilling still has significant safety shortcomings that would not prevent another disaster like the BP Deepwater Horizon spill.

A recent poll by the coalition group, Protect Our Coast, revealed that voters support the prevention of new leases for offshore drilling by a net margin of 16 points.

Oceana also reports that ‘permanently protecting our coasts from new drilling would protect $250 billion in GDP reliant on industries like fishing, tourism and recreation.’