Deepwater horizon

By how much did BP and the U.S. government underestimate the rate at which oil was spilling from the Macondo site in their first calculation?

• By a factor of 12

• By a factor of 20

• By a factor of 35

• By a factor of 60

How does the total amount of oil that spilled from BP’s Gulf of Mexico well in 2010 compare to the amount of oil consumed daily around the world that year?

• The spill amounted to less than 1% of daily global oil consumption.

• The spill amounted to about 6% of daily global oil consumption.

• The spill amounted to about 30% of daily global oil consumption.

• The spill amounted to about 50% of daily global oil consumption.

Oil typically floats on water, a fact that scientists have long relied on in estimating the size of oil spills. But why did the plumes of oil stay underwater at the BP well site?

• Strong ocean currents kept them trapped in place.

• The type of oil leaked in the Gulf is especially dense and did not rise.

• Dispersants broke oil into droplets suspended by equally dense water.

• The density of the water was equal to the density of oil because of the depth of the wellhead.

Of the following major oil spills, which one was the smallest?

• BP, Gulf of Mexico 2010

• Exxon Valdez, Alaska, 1989

• Ixtoc, Gulf of Mexico, 1979

• Persian Gulf war, Kuwait, 1991

What was the “root technical cause” of the BP well blowout, according to the chief counsel’s report of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill?

• The cement pumped to the bottom of the well did not seal off the oil and natural gas.

• The blowout preventer failed to seal off the oil and natural gas

• The heavy drilling mud failed to counterbalance the pressure of the oil and natural gas.

• The depth of the well caused the oil and natural gas pressure to be too high

One way authorities sought to control the oil was by surrounding the slick with fire booms and burning it off. What percentage of the oil was removed by these in situ burns?

• 1%

• 5%

• 10%

• 20%

Overall, 1,053 miles (1,694 kilometers) of coastlines in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Texas are known to have been blackened by the BP disaster. How much area remained heavily or moderately oiled at the start of this year?

• 12 miles

• 20 miles

• 80 miles

• 110 miles