Gulf of Mexico · Macondo Well · 20 April 2010
The definitive public record of America's worst offshore oil spill — from the night the rig exploded to the settlements, restoration battles and lawsuits still unfolding in 2026. Every figure below is drawn from named public sources: the U.S. Justice Department and the Associated Press.
On the night of 20 April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon — a semi-submersible drilling rig working BP's Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico — suffered an uncontrolled blowout. According to court documents cited by the U.S. Justice Department, the blowout triggered explosions and fire aboard the rig, killing 11 workers.
The well then flowed uncontrolled into the Gulf. The Associated Press has reported that the disaster ultimately sent an estimated 134 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean, and that it remains the worst offshore oil spill in United States history.
What followed was more than a decade of criminal prosecutions, the largest civil environmental settlement ever reached with a single entity, a multi-billion-dollar Gulf restoration program — and litigation that continues to this day.
Rig workers killed in the blowout, explosions and fire at the Macondo well site. Source: U.S. Justice Department.
Estimated volume released into the Gulf — the worst offshore spill in U.S. history. Source: AP.
BP's 2015 settlement with the U.S. and five Gulf states under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act. Source: DOJ.
Fines, penalties and restitution after BP's 2013 guilty plea, including $2.4B for natural resource restoration. Source: DOJ.
$400M criminal plus a $1B civil Clean Water Act penalty against Transocean entities. Source: DOJ.
Spill-related health claims reviewed by AP in 2025 — all but a handful dismissed, only one settled. Source: AP.
Eleven confirmed entries, each attributed to a named public source. For the continuously updated evidence file — including a source-by-source breakdown and contradictions log — see the live Deepwater Horizon case file at DevelopingCase.com.
The Deepwater Horizon rig experiences an uncontrolled blowout and related explosions and fire at the Macondo well site in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven rig workers are killed.
Source: Justice Department (court documents)The disaster ultimately releases an estimated 134 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean — the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, per AP's later reporting.
Source: APBP Exploration and Production Inc. pleads guilty to illegal conduct leading to and after the disaster. It is sentenced to pay $4 billion in criminal fines, penalties and restitution, including $2.4 billion for natural resource restoration.
Source: Justice DepartmentTransocean Deepwater Inc. pleads guilty to violating the Clean Water Act and is sentenced to pay $400 million in criminal fines and penalties.
Source: Justice DepartmentA separate civil settlement imposes a $1 billion Clean Water Act penalty on Transocean entities related to the incident.
Source: Justice DepartmentThe United States and five Gulf states reach a civil settlement with BP worth $20.8 billion, resolving government claims under the Clean Water Act, the Oil Pollution Act, and related state and local economic-damage claims. Natural-resource-damages money is earmarked for Gulf restoration projects selected by federal and state trustees across five restoration goals and 13 project categories.
Source: Justice DepartmentU.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier enters the consent decree settling United States of America v. BP Exploration & Production Inc., et al.
Source: Justice DepartmentAP reports that of roughly 4,800 lawsuits seeking compensation for health problems linked to the spill, all but a handful have been dismissed and only one has been settled.
Source: APLouisiana cancels the nearly $3 billion Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project — a flagship coastal restoration effort funded by the Deepwater Horizon oil-spill settlement.
Source: APEnvironmental groups sue the Trump administration over approval of BP's Kaskida ultra deep-water drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico. BP's position, as reported by AP, is that the lawsuit is unfounded.
Source: APTimeline data verified against the public case file DC-0031 · Deepwater Horizon at DevelopingCase.com, last updated 15 July 2026.
Combined criminal and civil resolutions arising from the disaster exceed $26 billion across BP and Transocean, per Justice Department announcements.
| Year | Party | Type | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | BP Exploration & Production | Criminal (guilty plea) | $4.0B | Includes $2.4B for natural resource restoration |
| 2013 | Transocean Deepwater Inc. | Criminal (guilty plea, Clean Water Act) | $400M | Fines and penalties |
| 2013 | Transocean entities | Civil (Clean Water Act) | $1.0B | Separate civil settlement |
| 2015–16 | BP | Civil (U.S. + five Gulf states) | $20.8B | Clean Water Act, Oil Pollution Act & economic-damage claims; consent decree entered 4 Apr 2016 |
All figures as announced by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Sixteen years after the blowout, key questions about the money, the restoration and the courts remain unanswered in trusted-source reporting:
These questions are tracked continuously — with every update sourced and dated as verified reporting emerges — in the live evidence file at DevelopingCase.com.
Follow the Live Case File →According to AP reporting, the disaster sent an estimated 134 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico — the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.
Eleven rig workers were killed when the Macondo well suffered an uncontrolled blowout followed by explosions and fire on 20 April 2010, according to court documents cited by the U.S. Justice Department.
BP was sentenced to pay $4 billion in criminal fines, penalties and restitution after its 2013 guilty plea, and later agreed to a $20.8 billion civil settlement with the United States and five Gulf states, entered as a consent decree in April 2016.
Yes. Transocean Deepwater Inc. pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act and was sentenced to pay $400 million in criminal penalties, and Transocean entities separately paid a $1 billion civil Clean Water Act penalty, per the Justice Department.
Yes. In April 2026, environmental groups sued over approval of BP's Kaskida ultra deep-water drilling project in the Gulf, and a small number of spill-related health lawsuits remain on the dockets. The current status of both is tracked in the Deepwater Horizon case file at DevelopingCase.com.
Natural-resource-damages funds from the BP settlement finance restoration projects selected by federal and state trustees across five restoration goals and 13 project categories. In July 2025, Louisiana canceled the nearly $3 billion Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project — one of the largest settlement-funded efforts — per AP.
Every fact on this page names a public source. For the source-by-source evidence view, contradictions log and update alerts, see the verified Deepwater Horizon case file (DC-0031) at DevelopingCase.com.