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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.
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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.
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BP reports a rise in profits, due in large part to oil price increases, as shares rise again.
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The coast guard says the flow of oil is 5,000bpd, five times greater than first estimated, after a third leak is discovered.
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An Obama aide says no drilling will be allowed in new areas until the cause of the Deepwater Horizon accident is established.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
