Chart of Worlds Largest Oil Spills---Not something to be proud of...

Crude mistakes

The world's largest oil spills

ON APRIL 22nd Deepwater Horizon, an oil rig 130 miles (209 km) south-east of New Orleans sank into 1,500m (5,000 feet) of water, following an explosion two days earlier. Eleven of the 126 workers who were onboard remain unaccounted for. Around 1,000 barrels (42,000 US gallons) of crude have been leaking from the submersed rig each day since it sank last week. This spill however, pales in comparison to large disasters, both accidental and man-made. During the first Gulf war, the Iraqi army purposely destroyed tankers and oil terminals in Kuwait, releasing 500m barrels of crude, in order to hold-up the US Navy’s imminent approach in the Arabian Gulf. The environmental impacts caused by such spills varies greatly, with those close to the coast and pristine environments by far the most destructive. Hopefully the current oil slick will harden and sink to the ocean floor before it has a chance to make landfall in Louisiana over the next few days.