This month marks the 15th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, a catastrophic event that killed eleven workers and unleashed nearly five million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
Initially, BP claimed the well was leaking at just 1,000 barrels per day, but satellite imagery told a dramatically different story. Within a week of the explosion, SkyTruth and marine scientist Dr. Ian MacDonald published estimates showing the flow rate was at least five times higher than officially reported. As we continued analyzing imagery, we revised our estimate upward to over 26,500 barrels daily. Eventually, our independent assessment helped pressure officials to admit what the satellite data had already shown: this was the largest accidental marine oil spill in history.
The Deepwater Horizon disaster revealed a disturbing truth about offshore oil development -- operations happen far from public view, where pollution can easily go undetected. When environmental catastrophes occur, the companies responsible often downplay their severity. Without independent monitoring using advanced technology, we might never know the full extent of damage to our oceans.
Today, fifteen years later, this problem persists. Despite the urgent climate crisis, offshore oil production continues expanding globally, often with little public scrutiny. The industry is increasingly moving toward deeper waters using floating production and storage vessels (FxOs) that make it economical to drill in previously inaccessible areas. This shift brings heightened risks to marine ecosystems already stressed by warming, acidification, and biodiversity loss.
Last week we released a new report - Exposing the Environmental Costs of Offshore Oil: Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Oil Slicks, and Flaring - which exposes the world's most polluting offshore oil infrastructure. Using our Cerulean technology – a free, publicly available system that employs artificial intelligence and satellite imagery to track ocean oil pollution -- we documented persistent oil slicks, greenhouse gas emissions, and methane flaring at offshore sites around the globe.
The findings are alarming. Through 16 months of monitoring, we identified ten offshore sites that stood out for their frequency and extent of oil slicks, collectively responsible for at least 216,000 gallons of oil detected on ocean surfaces. FxOs are disproportionately represented among severe polluters, accounting for four of the ten most polluting assets observed globally, despite comprising a small fraction of total infrastructure.
I've spent over three decades in remote sensing, and I've watched smaller pollution events go unnoticed because they happen "out of sight and over the horizon." I have observed countless oil slicks from vessels while working with radar satellite imagery -- despite international treaties outlawing such pollution since 1972. The problem was enforcement. Without the ability to identify vessels responsible for pollution, they operated with impunity.
That's changed. Today's satellite technology allows us to routinely identify pollution sources. Digital technology is transforming environmental monitoring from a passive activity into an active tool for accountability.
This week, we'll present these findings at the Our Ocean Conference in Busan, Korea, which is focused on actions for advancing sustainable oceans through digital technology. This gathering comes at a crucial moment when the international community is working toward protecting at least 30% of the world's ocean by 2030 -- the "30x30" goal adopted under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Achieving this target requires not just designating protected areas but ensuring they're effectively managed.
Digital technology will be essential to this effort. As human industrial use of the ocean accelerates -- from offshore oil development to seabed mining, industrial fishing, renewable energy projects, and aquaculture -- we face a fundamental oversight challenge. Much of this activity happens in areas with weak governance, particularly in the high seas beyond national jurisdictions.
The international community must prioritize satellite monitoring of our oceans. This isn't just for governments -- civil society organizations worldwide can analyze this data to drive accountability. As government engagement in environmental monitoring potentially diminishes, empowering watchdog organizations with accessible data becomes increasingly vital.
One truism guides our work: people behave better when they know they're being watched. Digital monitoring creates a powerful deterrent effect. Rather than catching every violation, our goal is to prevent environmental crimes before they occur.
The science is clear: effective marine protection is vital for long-term economic, social, and planetary wellbeing. Communities worldwide and future generations depend on ocean health. With digital technology as our ally, we can shed light on previously hidden environmental threats and ensure meaningful protection of our blue planet.
