The Deepwater Horizon accident is a disaster of epic proportions

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon exploded off the coast of Louisiana, killing 11 workers. The rig, a semi-submersible offshore drilling rig built in 2001 in South Korea, was owned by Transocean and leased to British Petroleum (BP). The rig sank 2 days after the explosion, causing what may be the worst environmental disasters in history. At the time of the accident, the rig was about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana, drilling in what is known as the Macondo Project.

Offshore oil rig accident attorneys often have to figure out exactly went wrong in an accident. Of course, there will be a lot of finger pointing between BP, Transocean and other companies working on the rig. The rig was drilling a well and cementing casing into place, which reinforces the well. The workers on the rig apparently felt two big shudders. Shortly thereafter, gas, oil, and mud erupted from the well. A spark then caused the oil to catch fire, which set the entire rig aflame. The fire and explosion occurred at about 10 p.m. CDT on April 20, 2010.

Many agencies are investigating the cause of the explosion. One major techical problem is that the blowout preventer, which is supposed to seal off the well in emergencies, completely failed to do its job. It has also been noted that the process of cementing the casing of the well into place (which protects the pipe from the high pressures of the surrounding oil and gas) had only been finished about 20 hours before the accident. Obviously, undersea drilling is very risky because of the high pressure in the oil reservoirs.

Contact Texas offshore oil rig accident lawyer Scott Nelson if you or a loved one has been affected by this disaster or any other maritime matter.  Mr. Nelson serves Galveston, Corpus Christi, Brownsville and all of Texas.