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Figure 1.14 – Santa Barbara, Calif., 1969
Generally considered the fourth largest oil spill in history, the Ixtoc spill
occurred when the Mexican state-owned Pemex was drilling an exploratory well in
shallow water in the Bay of Campeche. The Ixtoc suffered a blowout, and more
than 3 million barrels (126,000,000 gallons) of oil gushed from the well for more
than nine months before engineers were able to cap it. The spill contaminated more
than 162 miles of beach in Texas (fig. 1.15).
Figure 1.15 – Ixtoc I oil spill, Gulf of Mexico, 1979
The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded due to a methane gas release on
April, 20, 2010, immediately killing 11 and injuring 17 platform workers. On July
15, 2010, the leak was stopped, however 206 million gallons of oil had already
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