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Ten Largest Oil Spills in the World

The following table lists the largest oil spills in the world. The date of the spill, circumstances surrounding the spill, and amount of oil spilled are also given.

Rank Date Cause Source Location Spill Volume
1. April 20, 2010 explosion drilling rig Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico, 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana an estimated 200,000 gallons a day
2. Jan. 23–27, 1991 deliberate act by Iraq tankers 10 mi off Kuwait 240–460 million gallons
3. June 3, 1979 well blowout oil well Ixtoc 1 Gulf of Mexico 140 million gallons
4. March 2, 1992 leak oil well Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan 88 million gallons
5. July 19, 1979 collision tankers Atlantic Empress and the Aegean Captain Trinidad & Tobago 87 million gallons
6. Sept. 8, 1994 dam burst oil reservoir Russia 84 million gallons
7. April, 1977 well blowout Ekofisk oil field North Sea 81 million gallons
8. Feb. 4, 1983 collision Nowruz field platform Persian Gulf, Iran 80 million gallons
9. May 28, 1991 explosion tanker ABT Summer off Angola 78 million gallons
10. Aug. 6, 1983 fire tanker Castillo de Bellver Cape Town, South Africa 78 million gallons

Information Please® Database, © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Ten Largest Oil Spills in the U.S.

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