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20 April 2010
Explosion and fire on the BP-licensed Transocean drilling rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. -
24 April
Oil is found to be leaking from the well. -
April 25
US coast guard remote underwater cameras report the well is leaking 1,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd). -
April 25
Underwater robots try to fix problem. -
April 28
The coast guard says the flow of oil is 5,000bpd, five times greater than first estimated, after a third leak is discovered. -
April 29
President Obama talks about the spill at the White House, his first public comments on the issue. -
May 1
The coast guard announces the leak will affect the Gulf shore. -
May 2
Obama visits the Gulf coast to see cleanup efforts first hand. -
May 4
BP executives face Congress in a closed session, as the White House backs a Senate proposal to increase the limit on liability payouts from $75m to $10bn (£6.5bn) for the cost of a spill. -
June 16
esident Obama meets with top executives and lawyers of BP at the White House. He later announces that BP agreed to create a $20 billion fund to pay claims and damages. -
April 27
The US departments of interior and homeland security announce plans for a joint investigation of the explosion and fire.
