-
Deepwater Horizon oil rig fire leaves 11 missing.
Explosion and fire on the BP-licensed Transocean drilling rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven people are reported missing and approximately 17 injured. A blowout preventer, intended to prevent release of crude oil, failed to activate. -
Underwater robots try to seal well.
US coast guard remote underwater cameras report the well is leaking 1,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd). It approves a plan for remote underwater vehicles to activate a blowout preventer and stop the leak. -
BP profits jump after oil price rise.
BP reports a rise in profits, due in large part to oil price increases, as shares rise again. -
Gulf oil spill 5 times larger than estimated.
The coast guard says the flow of oil is 5,000bpd, five times greater than first estimated, after a third leak is discovered. -
US bans new drilling in Gulf of Mexico.
An Obama aide says no drilling will be allowed in new areas until the cause of the Deepwater Horizon accident is established. -
BP stems one of three Deepwater Horizon oil leaks.
BP successfully attaches a valve to the end of the broken drilling pipe at the Macondo well in a bid to end the flow of oil into the US Gulf. BP says one of the three leaks has been shut off by capping a valve, but that would not reduce the amount of oil gushing out. Officials conduct controlled burns to remove oil from the open water. -
Containment dome reaches Gulf oil spill scene.
BP confirms the arrival of three huge containment domes designed to collect much of the 5,000bpd leaking into the US Gulf from the Macondo blowout. -
Deepwater team attempts to put 100 tonne box over blown out oil well.
BP engineers use undersea robots to move the containment chamber over the larger of the two remaining leaks on the seabed. This containment method has never before been attempted at such a depth. -
Quick fix dashed as BP tower fails to contain oil.
BP's containment dome hits a snag when a buildup of crystallised gas forces engineers to postpone efforts to place the chamber over the oil leak and draw the oil to the surface. -
BP holds press conference.
BP announces plans to place a small containment dome, known as a "top hat", over the blown-out well to funnel oil to the surface, as Hayward holds a press conference.
