Editing Oil spill (section)

==Largest oil spills==
{{Main|List of oil spills}}
Crude oil and refined fuel spills from tanker ship accidents have damaged vulnerable [[ecosystem]]s in [[Alaska]], the [[Gulf of Mexico]], the [[Galapagos Islands]], [[France]], the [[Sundarbans]] and many other places. The quantity of oil spilled during accidents has ranged from a few hundred tons to several hundred thousand tons (e.g., [[Deepwater Horizon oil spill]], ''[[Atlantic Empress]]'', ''[[Amoco Cadiz]]''),<ref>[http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-bp-s-blowout-ranks-among-top-5-oil-spills-in-1-graphic www.scientificamerican.com 20150-04-20 How BP's Blowout Ranks among Top 5 Oil Spills in 1 Graphic]</ref> but volume is a limited measure of damage or impact. Smaller spills have already proven to have a great impact on ecosystems, such as the [[Exxon Valdez oil spill|''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill]] because of the remoteness of the site or the difficulty of an emergency environmental response.<ref>{{Cite web |title=oil spill {{!}} Definition, Causes, Effects, List, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/oil-spill |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

[[Environmental issues in the Niger Delta|Oil spills in the Niger Delta]] are among the worst on the planet and is often used as an example of [[ecocide]].<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |date=2021-04-07 |title='Ecocide' movement pushes for a new international crime: Environmental destruction |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ecocide-movement-pushes-new-international-crime-environmental-destruction-n1263142 |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":32">{{Cite web |title=Fighting ecocide in Nigeria |url=https://theecologist.org/2014/feb/05/fighting-ecocide-nigeria |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=theecologist.org |date=5 February 2014 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":42">{{Cite web |title=UNPO: Ogoni: An Ecocide in the Making? |url=https://unpo.org/article/19131 |access-date=2023-07-06 |website=unpo.org|date=2 November 2009 }}</ref><ref name=":52">{{Cite news |date=2011-08-22 |title=How an ecocide law could prevent another Nigerian oil disaster |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/aug/22/ecocide-law-nigerian-oil-disaster |access-date=2023-07-06 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name="GuardianNigeria">{{Cite news |date=2010-05-29 |title=Nigeria's agony dwarfs the Gulf oil spill. The US and Europe ignore it |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/30/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-shell |access-date=2022-11-13 |work=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> Between 1970 and 2000, there were over 7,000 spills. Between 1956 and 2006, up to 1.5 million tons of oil were spilled in the [[Niger Delta]].<ref name="GuardianNigeria" />

Oil spills at sea are generally much more damaging than those on land, since they can spread for hundreds of nautical miles in a thin [[oil slick]] which can cover beaches with a thin coating of oil.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}} These can kill seabirds, mammals, shellfish and other organisms they coat. Oil spills on land are more readily containable if a makeshift earth dam can be rapidly [[bulldozed]] around the spill site before most of the oil escapes, and land animals can avoid the oil more easily.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left"
|+ '''Largest oil spills'''
! Spill / Tanker || Location || Date || Tonnes of crude oil<br/>(thousands)<ref group=lower-alpha>One metric ton (tonne) of crude oil is roughly equal to 308 US gallons or 7.33 barrels approx.; 1 oil barrel (bbl) is equal to 35 imperial or 42 US gallons. [http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/about-bp/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/Conversionfactors.html Approximate conversion factors.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140621141947/http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/about-bp/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/using-the-review/Conversionfactors.html |date=2014-06-21}}</ref> || Barrels<br/>(thousands) || US Gallons<br/>(thousands) || References
|-
| [[Kuwaiti Oil Fires]]<ref group=lower-alpha>Estimates for the amount of oil burned in the Kuwaiti Oil Fires range from {{convert|500000000|oilbbl}} to nearly {{convert|2000000000|oilbbl}}. Between 605 and 732 wells were set ablaze, while many others were severely damaged and gushed uncontrolled for several months. It took over ten months to bring all of the wells under control. The fires alone were estimated to consume approximately {{convert|6000000|oilbbl}} of oil per day at their peak.</ref>
| [[Kuwait]]
| {{dts|January 16, 1991}} – {{dts|November 6, 1991}}
| {{Nts|136000}}
| {{Nts|1000000}}
| {{Nts|42000000}}
|<ref>[[United States Department of Defense]] ''Environmental Exposure Report: Oil Well Fires'' (updated August 2, 2000)</ref><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/01/03/sproject.irq.kuwait.oil.fires/index.html?_s=PM:WORLD CNN.com, ''Kuwait still recovering from Gulf War fires''], 3 January 2003.</ref>
|-
| Kuwaiti Oil Lakes{{Refn|group=lower-alpha|Oil spilled from sabotaged fields in Kuwait during the 1991 Persian Gulf War pooled in approximately 300 oil lakes, estimated by the Kuwaiti Oil Minister to contain approximately 25,000,000 to {{convert|50000000|oilbbl}} of oil. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, this figure does not include the amount of oil absorbed by the ground, forming a layer of "tarcrete" over approximately five percent of the surface of Kuwait, fifty times the area occupied by the oil lakes.<ref name="earthshots.usgs.gov"/>}}
| [[Kuwait]]
| {{dts|January, 1991}} – {{dts|November, 1991}}
| {{Nts|3409}}–6,818
| {{Nts|25000}}–50,000
| {{Nts|1050000}}–2,100,000
|<ref name="earthshots.usgs.gov">[[United States Geological Survey]], [http://earthshots.usgs.gov/Iraq/Iraqtext Campbell, Robert Wellman, ed. 1999. ''Iraq and Kuwait: 1972, 1990, 1991, 1997.'' Earthshots: Satellite Images of Environmental Change. U.S. Geological Survey. http://earthshots.usgs.gov], revised 14 February 1999. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130219034012/http://earthshots.usgs.gov/Iraq/Iraqtext |date=February 19, 2013}}</ref><ref name="unep.org">[[United Nations]], [http://www.unep.org/dewa/westasia/data/Knowledge_Bases/Iraq/Reports/UNEPGCIraq1993.pdf ''Updated Scientific Report on the Environmental Effects of the Conflict between Iraq and Kuwait''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100728104917/http://www.unep.org/dewa/westasia/data/Knowledge_Bases/Iraq/Reports/UNEPGCIraq1993.pdf |date=2010-07-28 }}, 8 March 1993.</ref><ref>[[NASA|National Aeronautics and Space Administration]], [[Goddard Space Flight Center]] News, [http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2003/0321kuwaitfire.html ''1991 Kuwait Oil Fires''], 21 March 2003.</ref>
|-
| [[Lakeview Gusher]]
| [[Kern County, California|Kern County]], California, USA
| {{dts|March 14, 1910}} – {{dts|September, 1911}}
| {{Nts|1200}}
| {{Nts|9000}}
| {{Nts|378000}}
|<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jun-13-la-me-then-20100613-story.html |title=California's legendary oil spill |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=2010-06-13 |access-date=2010-07-14 |first=Steve |last=Harvey}}</ref>
|-
| [[Gulf War oil spill]]{{Refn|group=lower-alpha|Estimates for the Gulf War oil spill range from 4,000,000 to {{convert|11000000|oilbbl}}. The figure of 6,000,000 to {{convert|8000000|oilbbl}} is the range adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the United Nations in the immediate aftermath of the war, 1991–1993, and is still current, as cited by NOAA and ''[[The New York Times]]'' in 2010.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/science/earth/04enviro.html?_r=1 ''Gulf Oil Spill Is Bad, but How Bad?''], last updated 20 May 2010.</ref> This amount only includes oil discharged directly into the Persian Gulf by the retreating Iraqi forces from January 19 to 28, 1991. However, according to the U.N. report, oil from other sources not included in the official estimates continued to pour into the Persian Gulf through June, 1991. The amount of this oil was estimated to be at least several hundred thousand barrels, and may have factored into the estimates above {{convert|8000000|oilbbl}}.}}
| [[Kuwait]], [[Iraq]], and the [[Persian Gulf]]
| {{dts|January 19, 1991}} – {{dts|January 28, 1991}}
| {{Nts|818}}–1,091
| {{Nts|6000}}–8,000
| {{Nts|252000}}–336,000
|<ref name="unep.org"/><ref>[[United States Environmental Protection Agency]], [http://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyNET.exe/20014FNJ.txt?ZyActionD=ZyDocument&Client=EPA&Index=1991%20Thru%201994&Docs=&Query=&Time=&EndTime=&SearchMethod=3&TocRestrict=n&Toc=&TocEntry=&QField=pubnumber%5E%22906R92902%22&QFieldYear=&QFieldMonth=&QFieldDay=&UseQField=pubnumber&IntQFieldOp=1&ExtQFieldOp=1&XmlQuery=&File=D%3A%5CZYFILES%5CINDEX%20DATA%5C91THRU94%5CTXT%5C00000017%5C20014FNJ.txt&User=ANONYMOUS&Password=anonymous&SortMethod=h%7C-&MaximumDocuments=10&FuzzyDegree=0&ImageQuality=r75g8/r75g8/x150y150g16/i425&Display=p%7Cf&DefSeekPage=x&SearchBack=ZyActionL&Back=ZyActionS&BackDesc=Results%20page&MaximumPages=1&ZyEntry=1 ''Report To Congress United States Gulf Environmental Technical Assistance From January 27 – July 31 1991'']</ref><ref>[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]], Office of Response and Restoration, Emergency Response Division, [http://www.incidentnews.gov/incident/6786 Incident News: Arabian Gulf Spills] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100804005524/http://incidentnews.gov/incident/6786 |date=2010-08-04}}, updated 18 May 2010.</ref>
|-
| [[Deepwater Horizon oil spill|''Deepwater Horizon'']]
| United States, [[Gulf of Mexico]]
| {{dts|April 20, 2010}} – {{dts|July 15, 2010}}
| {{Nts|560}}–585
| {{Nts|4100}}–4,900
| {{Nts|189000}}–231,000
|<ref>{{cite news | author1=Campbell Robertson | author2=Clifford Krauss | title=Gulf Spill Is the Largest of Its Kind, Scientists Say | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/us/03spill.html?_r=1&hp| agency=New York Times | date=2 August 2010 | access-date=2 August 2010 | work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | author=CNN | title=Oil disaster by the numbers | url=http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2010/gulf.coast.oil.spill/interactive/numbers.interactive/index.html| work=CNN | date=1 July 2010 | access-date=1 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | author=Consumer Energy Report | title=Internal Documents: BP Estimates Oil Spill Rate up to 100,000 Barrels Per Day | url=http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2010/06/20/internal-document-bp-estimates-spill-rate-up-to-100000-bpd/ | work=Consumer Energy Report | date=20 June 2010 | access-date=20 June 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014015853/http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2010/06/20/internal-document-bp-estimates-spill-rate-up-to-100000-bpd/ | archive-date=14 October 2012 | url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=11220248 |title=Big Oil Plans Rapid Response to Future Spills |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |access-date=2012-08-27}}</ref><ref name="NewYorker031411">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/03/14/110314fa_fact_khatchadourian |title=The Gulf War |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |author=Khatchadourian, Raffi|date=March 14, 2011}}</ref>
|-
| [[Ixtoc I oil spill|''Ixtoc I'']]
| Mexico, [[Gulf of Mexico]]
| {{dts|June 3, 1979}} – {{dts|March 23, 1980}}
| {{Nts|454}}–480
| {{Nts|3329}}–3,520
| {{Nts|139818}}–147,840
|<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.incidentnews.gov/incident/6250 |title= IXTOC I |access-date= 2008-11-03 |publisher= [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120503224425/http://www.incidentnews.gov/incident/6250 |archive-date= 2012-05-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title= Ixtoc 1 oil spill: flaking of surface mousse in the Gulf of Mexico |volume=290 |issue= 5803 |doi=10.1038/290235a0 |journal=Nature |pages=235–238|date= March 1981 |last1= Fiest |first1= David L. |last2= Boehm |first2= Paul D. |last3= Rigler |first3= Mark W. |last4= Patton |first4= John S. |bibcode=1981Natur.290..235P|s2cid=4312522 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Ixtoc 1 oil spill: flaking of surface mousse in the Gulf of Mexico|journal= Nature|volume=290 |issue=5803|doi=10.1038/290235a0 |pages=235–238|year= 1981|last1= Patton|first1= John S.|last2= Rigler|first2= Mark W.|last3= Boehm|first3= Paul D.|last4= Fiest|first4= David L.|bibcode= 1981Natur.290..235P|s2cid= 4312522}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Atlantic Empress]]'' / ''Aegean Captain''
| [[Trinidad and Tobago]]
| {{dts|July 19, 1979}}
| {{Nts|287}}
| {{Nts|2105}}
| {{Nts|88396}}
|<ref name="itopf">{{cite web|url=http://www.itopf.com/stats.html |title=Major Oil Spills |access-date=2008-11-02 |publisher=International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928103949/http://www.itopf.com/stats.html |archive-date=September 28, 2007}}</ref><ref name="cedre atlantic">{{cite web|url=http://www.cedre.fr/uk/spill/atlantic/atlantic.htm |title=Atlantic Empress |access-date=2008-11-10 |publisher=Centre de Documentation de Recherche et d'Expérimentations |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019035945/http://www.cedre.fr/uk/spill/atlantic/atlantic.htm |archive-date=October 19, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maritime-connector.com/ContentDetails/1479/gcgid/193/lang/English/Tanker-Incidents.wshtml |title=Tanker Incidents |access-date=2009-07-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090623220136/http://www.maritime-connector.com/ContentDetails/1479/gcgid/193/lang/English/Tanker-Incidents.wshtml |archive-date=June 23, 2009}}</ref>
|-
| [[Fergana Valley oil spill|Fergana Valley]]
| [[Uzbekistan]]
| {{dts|March 2, 1992}}
| {{Nts|285}}
| {{Nts|2090}}
| {{Nts|87780}}
|<ref name="marinergroup">{{cite web |url= http://www.marinergroup.com/oil-spill-history.htm |title= Oil Spill History |access-date= 2008-11-02 |publisher= The Mariner Group |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120805083333/http://www.marinergroup.com/oil-spill-history.htm |archive-date=2012-08-05}}</ref>
|-
| [[Nowruz (oil field)|Nowruz Field Platform]]
| [[Iran]], [[Persian Gulf]]
| {{dts|February 4, 1983}}
| {{Nts|260}}
| {{Nts|1900}}
| {{Nts|80000}}
|<ref name="A0001451">{{cite web | url= http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001451.html |title= Oil Spills and Disasters |access-date=2008-11-16}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[ABT Summer]]''
| [[Angola]], {{convert|700|nmi|abbr=on}} offshore
| {{dts|May 28, 1991}}
| {{Nts|260}}
| {{Nts|1907}}
| {{Nts|80080}}
|<ref name="itopf"/>
|-
| ''[[Castillo de Bellver]]''
| [[South Africa]], [[Saldanha Bay]]
| {{dts|August 6, 1983}}
| {{Nts|252}}
| {{Nts|1848}}
| {{Nts|77616}}
|<ref name="itopf"/>
|-
| ''[[Amoco Cadiz]]''
| France, [[Brittany]]
| {{dts|March 16, 1978}}
| {{Nts|223}}
| {{Nts|1635}}
| {{Nts|68684}}
|<ref name="itopf"/><ref name="marinergroup"/><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.incidentnews.gov/incident/6241 |title= Amoco Cadiz |access-date= 2008-11-16 |publisher= [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081027093928/http://www.incidentnews.gov/incident/6241/ |archive-date=2008-10-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.itopf.com/information-services/data-and-statistics/case-histories/index.html#amoco-cadiz |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525015449/http://www.itopf.com/information-services/data-and-statistics/case-histories/index.html#amoco-cadiz|archive-date=May 25, 2009 |url-status=dead |title=Case Histories |publisher=ITOPF }}</ref>
|-
| [[Taylor oil spill|''Taylor Energy'']]
| United States, [[Gulf of Mexico]]
| {{dts|September 23, 2004}} – Present
| {{Nts|210}}–490
| {{Nts|1500}}–3,500
| {{Nts|63000}}–147,000
|<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-14-year-long-oil-spill-in-the-gulf-of-mexico-verges-on-becoming-one-of-the-worst-in-us-history/2018/10/20/f9a66fd0-9045-11e8-bcd5-9d911c784c38_story.html |title=A 14-year-long oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico verges on becoming one of the worst in U.S. history |access-date=2018-10-22 |newspaper=[[Washington Post]]}}</ref>
|-
|[[Odyssey (tanker)|''Odyssey'']]
|off the coast of [[Nova Scotia]], [[Canada]]
| {{dts|November 10, 1988}}
| {{Nts|132}}
| {{Nts|968}}
| {{Nts|40704}}
|<ref name="itopf2">{{cite web |author=Information Services |title=Data & Statistics: Accidental Marine oil Spillages Since 1970 |url=http://www.itopf.com/information-services/data-and-statistics/statistics/index.html |publisher=International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) |date=7 May 2010 |access-date=18 May 2010 |archive-date=12 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512033448/http://www.itopf.com/information-services/data-and-statistics/statistics/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
|[[SS Torrey Canyon|''Torrey Canyon'']]
|England, [[Cornwall]]
| {{dts|March 18, 1967}}
| {{Nts|119}}
| {{Nts|872}}
| {{Nts|36635}}
|<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-39223308|title=Black tide: When the British bombed an oil spill|last1=Bell|first1=Bethan|date=2017-03-17|access-date=2020-01-09|last2=Cacciottolo|first2=Mario|language=en-GB}}</ref>
|}
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}