Deepwater Horizon 2010
Marker: recorded wreck position (Modern).
Key facts
| Name | Deepwater Horizon | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 2010 | Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier |
| Era | Modern | derived from year |
| Ship type | semi-submersible platform | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Nationality / flag | United States | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Operator | Transocean | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Sea / ocean | Gulf of Mexico | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | United States | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 80 km from land |
| Position | 28.7417, -88.3842 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig owned by Transocean and operated by the BP company. On 20 April 2010, while drilling in the Gulf of Mexico at the Macondo Prospect, a blowout caused an explosion on the rig that killed 11 people and ignited a fireball visible from 40 miles (64 km) away. The fire was inextinguishable and, two days later, on 22 April (Earth Day’s 40th anniversary), the Horizon collapsed, leaving the well gushing at the seabed and becoming the largest marine oil spill in history.
Built in 2001 in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the rig was commissioned by R&B Falcon (a later asset of Transocean), registered in Majuro, and under lease to BP from 2001 until September 2013. In September 2009, the rig drilled the deepest oil well in history at a vertical depth of 35,050 ft (10,683 m) and measured depth of 35,055 ft (10,685 m) in the Tiber Oil Field at Keathley Canyon block 102, approximately 250 miles (400 km) southeast of Houston, in 4,132 feet (1,259 m) of water.
Location
- Recorded position: 28.7417, -88.3842 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: Gulf of Mexico
- Nearest coast: United States
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Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Deepwater Horizon (revision 1378729552), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
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Browse more: North America wrecks · wrecks off United States · Gulf of Mexico · Modern