A STUDY OF CIVIL LIABILITY FOR OIL POLLUTION DAMAGE: THE DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL RIG EXPLOSION INCIDENT

Abstract

The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the US Gulf of Mexico, as a result five million barrels of oil flowed into the Gulf, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is regarded as one of the largest environmental disasters in world history. After the incident, a series of legal challenges as well as related laws were considered in the compensation for oil pollution damage. That is also the goal of this article, aiming for readers to fully understand the legal issues related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in particular, and the oil spill at sea in general.