The Biden administration has tightened offshore oil drilling safety regulations, including rules regarding the use of “blowout preventer” devices on offshore oil and gas drilling rigs.

A new National Academy of Science study says that 13 years after a massive BP oil spill fouled the Gulf of Mexico, regulators and industry have reduced some risks in deep water exploration in the gulf but some troublesome safety issues persist.

A supervisor on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 has died.

Environmental groups have asked a federal court to toss out the government's assessment of oil and gas activity's likely effects on endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico. A lawsuit filed Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, says the report doesnt consider the likelihood of another catastrophic oil spill like BP's Deepwater Horizon spill of 2010. He predicted the litigation will be lengthy because both the report and suit cover a huge area and many species. It will be largely a battle of experts, he said, but allegations about ignoring large spills are a strength of the suit. The suit said NOAA underestimated the largest spill likely.