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The BP Oil Spill, One Year Later NPR marks the April 20 anniversary of BP's Deepwater Horizon rig explosion with a series of stories that look at the Gulf Coast and at BP one year after the worst oil spill in history.
Fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the BP-operated off-shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico.
Special Series

The BP Oil Spill, One Year Later

NPR marks the anniversary with a series of stories that look at the Gulf Coast and at BP.
BP: A Textbook Example Of How Not To Handle PR

In May 2010, then-BP CEO Tony Hayward gave a news conference at Fourchon Beach in Port Fourchon, La. Patrick Semansky/AP hide caption

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Patrick Semansky/AP

Opinion

The Message Makers: Inside PR And Advertising

BP: A Textbook Example Of How Not To Handle PR

When an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico last April, BP was woefully underprepared to handle its public relations response. It failed to communicate the three key messages the public needed to hear — that BP was accountable for the disaster, was deeply concerned about the harm it caused and had a plan for what to do next.

BP: A Textbook Example Of How Not To Handle PR

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'Quagmire Of Bureaucracy' Stifles Gulf Spill Research

Phil Radford, executive director of Greenpeace USA, inspects oil-covered reeds while visiting the disaster site on May 20, 2010 south of Venice, Louisiana. A year after the spill, BP has yet to distribute $450 million dollars to scientists studying the disaster. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption

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John Moore/Getty Images

'Quagmire Of Bureaucracy' Stifles Gulf Spill Research

A year after the disaster, scientists are waiting for a promised $450 million from BP. Some of the research that has been done is tied up in legal proceedings, and researchers say they've missed the chance to gather critical data from the Gulf.

'Quagmire Of Bureaucracy' Stifles Gulf Spill Research

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The Familiar Name Of BP's Fated Oil Field

The oil field where BP was drilling is called Macondo. To some readers of fiction, that name will sound familiar. That's because Macondo is the name of an invented town, the setting for the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude by Nobel Prize-winning writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

The Familiar Name Of BP's Fated Oil Field

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In Cleaning Oiled Marshlands, A Sea Of Unknowns

Cleanup crews in the marshlands in Louisiana are using a long-armed machine with a rake on the end to help restore areas that were inundated with oil from the BP spill last April. Elizabeth Shogren/NPR hide caption

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Elizabeth Shogren/NPR

In Cleaning Oiled Marshlands, A Sea Of Unknowns

Scientists have begun cleanup efforts in some of the regions that were most affected by oil from the BP spill last April. They're trying to establish which methods — if any — work best.

In Cleaning Oiled Marshlands, A Sea Of Unknowns

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After Oil Spill, Shrimpers Hope For Good Season

Monsignor Frederic Brunet blesses the boat the Maycie Brooke before climbing aboard the vessel to begin the boat blessing parade, in Chauvin, La. William Widmer for NPR hide caption

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William Widmer for NPR

After Oil Spill, Shrimpers Hope For Good Season

It's been a hard year for Kim and David Chauvin and their family's shrimping business. The fifth-generation shrimpers spent last spring and summer helping BP clean up the worst oil spill in U.S. history. This spring, most of the Gulf is back open for fishing, and they pray for a plentiful harvest.

After Oil Spill, Shrimpers Hope For Blessed Season

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Drilling Oversight Agency Is Work in Progress

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in the Gulf of Mexico, April 21, 2010. Investigations before and after the disaster found the agency responsible for overseeing the industry quite friendly with those it regulated. Gerald Herbert/AP hide caption

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Gerald Herbert/AP

Drilling Oversight Agency Is Work in Progress

When the BP oil well blew out in the Gulf of Mexico last April, it was under the not-so-watchful eye of the Minerals Management Service. The Obama administration formed a new agency to address some of the old problems — but it's underfunded and understaffed.

Drilling Oversight Agency Faces 'Troubling' Obstacles

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Oil Firms Seek To Prove They Can Contain Spills

A year after the blowout at BP's Macondo oil well, the government is starting to issue drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico again. But the bar for such permits has been raised substantially: Drillers must prove they can contain an out-of-control well if something goes wrong. In response, two huge efforts to create containment systems were launched.

Oil Firms Seek To Prove They Can Contain Spills

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Legal Drama Over Gulf Oil Spill Could Last Years

Teens walk past a closed oyster business last week in Golden Meadow, La. A number of Louisiana fishermen have had to close because of economic conditions blamed on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Nearly a year after the spill, hundreds of lawsuits are slowly moving through the courts. Dave Martin/AP hide caption

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Dave Martin/AP

Legal Drama Over Gulf Oil Spill Could Last Years

Last year's huge oil spill left an enduring mark on communities along the Gulf Coast. But courts are just starting to turn to the question of who's to blame for the disaster — and who should pay for it.

Legal Drama Over Gulf Oil Spill Could Last Years

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A Year After Gulf Oil Spill, Florida Sees A Comeback

A family from New Orleans visits a beach in Pensacola, Fla., just before spring break season last month. In the distance, workers continue to clean up after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Eric Thayer/Getty Images hide caption

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Eric Thayer/Getty Images

A Year After Gulf Oil Spill, Florida Sees A Comeback

Hotels and restaurants in Florida's panhandle are reporting record spring break crowds one year after the deadly Deepwater Horizon oil rig blast and subsequent oil spill. But fishing charters and dive-boat owners say customers have been slow to return, apparently still suspicious of the water and the fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

A Year After Gulf Oil Spill, Florida Sees A Comeback

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Gulf Seafood Deemed Safe; Still Under Scrutiny

Seafood samples are placed in Pyrex dishes to await sensory analysis. Inspectors will sniff for the slightest whiff of oil. Samples are also cooked for a taste test to detect any problems. Debbie Elliott/NPR hide caption

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Debbie Elliott/NPR

Gulf Seafood Deemed Safe; Still Under Scrutiny

The Gulf of Mexico is known for its bounty — blue crab, shrimp, grouper, tuna, oysters — but ever since oil tainted a portion of the Gulf's fishing grounds, the seafood has been a tough sell. Officials say the tests have been unequivocal: The seafood is safe to eat.

Gulf Seafood Deemed Safe But Still Under Scrutiny

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