Animation: Understanding the Deepwater Horizon Blowout and Its Consequences

:fire: On April 20th, 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig caused the largest oil spill in US history.

:mag: An investigation revealed that a safety equipment called the blowout preventer failed to seal the well during the emergency, explaining the severity of the accident.

:warning: The investigation also warned that other blowout preventers currently in use could fail in similar ways.

💥 A blowout is a dangerous uncontrolled release of flammable oil and gas from a well.

🔒 The blowout preventer (BoP) is a critical piece of equipment that controls the well and prevents disasters on the drilling rig.

⚙️ The BoP seals the annular space around the drill pipe to prevent the flow of flammable oil and gas.

🔍 The Deepwater Horizon Blowout Animation explains the sequence of events leading to the oil and gas explosion in the Macondo well.

⚠️ A kick occurred in the well, causing oil and gas to enter undetected and flow towards the Deepwater Horizon rig.

💥 The ignition of flammable hydrocarbons led to explosions on the rig, resulting in the tragic Deepwater Horizon disaster.

💥 The buckling of the drill pipe inside the blowout preventer led to catastrophic consequences.

🔌 The explosion resulted in the loss of electrical and hydraulic power, activating the emergency system known as AMF Deadman.

🔵🟡 The yellow and blue pods, which operated independently, controlled key functions of the blowout preventer and had backup batteries for emergencies.

🔋 The miswiring of the batteries in the blue pod and the solenoid valves in the yellow pod caused failures in the Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer.

⚡️ Miswiring of the solenoid valves led to opposing magnetic forces, leaving the valve paralyzed and preventing closure of the blind shear Ram.

💡 A failed battery rendered one coil inoperable, allowing the other coil to open the solenoid valve and initiate closure of the blind shear Ram.

The failure of the blowout preventer resulted in a massive oil spill and destruction.

The CSB identified effective compression as the mechanism that caused the buckling of the drill pipe.

Differential pressure can make blowout preventer designs less effective in emergency situations.

🔺 The blowout preventer failed to seal the well, allowing oil and gas to flow into the Gulf of Mexico.

💧 Approximately 5 million barrels of oil were spilled over a period of 87 days.

🌎 This event is considered one of the worst environmental disasters in US history.