What are the risks of drilling a well?

Other hazards, such as unusual or unexpected geological formations, pressures, fires, blowouts, loss of circulation of drilling fluids or other conditions may substantially delay or prevent completion of any well. Adverse weather conditions can also hinder drilling operations.

What happened at the Macondo oil rig?

The video depicts how high-pressure oil and gas from the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico caused an explosion on the drilling rig that killed 11 workers and seriously injured 17 others. The rig burned for two days, eventually sinking and triggering the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

What happened on the Deepwater Horizon rig?

At right, Caleb Holloway, a floor- hand on the Deepwater Horizon, recalls his final minutes on the rig. Below, a diagram of the rig and what happened in three key areas. Ruffle has encountered a major issue whilst trying to initialize. It seems like this page has missing or invalid files for running Ruffle.

Why did the Deepwater Horizon oil rig sink?

The rig burned for two days, eventually sinking and triggering the largest oil spill in U.S. history. The 11-minute animation illustrates how the Deepwater Horizon’s blowout preventer failed to seal the well on the night of the accident because drill pipe buckled due to a mechanism known as “effective compression.”

Can a well control shack stop a blowout?

The crew calls the bridge about a well control situation and then tries to stop the blowout. Someone here may have later tried to activate an emergency shutdown of systems on the drilling floor, but it does not prevent the explosions. None of the workers in the shack survive.