What was the name of the drilling rig involved in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill?

Deepwater Horizon was the drilling rig involved in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The mobile offshore drilling unit was owned by Transocean and operated for BP at the Macondo prospect. On April 20, 2010, an uncontrolled release of hydrocarbons caused explosions and a fire aboard the rig. Eleven workers died, and the rig later sank.

The damaged Macondo well continued releasing oil into the Gulf of Mexico until it was capped in September 2010. The disaster became the largest marine oil spill in the petroleum industry’s history and caused extensive environmental and economic damage.

Deepwater Horizon was the rig, while Macondo was the well and BP was the principal operator of the drilling project. These names are sometimes confused because all three are central to accounts of the disaster. The incident also led to major changes in offshore safety regulation and well-control practices.