Ixtoc I Blows Out: Gulf's Worst Spill Begins
The Ixtoc I exploratory oil well blew out on June 3, 1979, in the Bay of Campeche, 600 miles south of Texas, when drilling mud circulation was lost at a depth of 11,800 feet. The blowout ignited, collapsing the Sedco 135F drilling rig and rupturing the wellhead. Oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 10,000 to 30,000 barrels per day for 297 days before the well was finally capped on March 23, 1980. The total spill was estimated at 140 million gallons, making it the largest accidental oil spill in history until the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010. Thousands of sea turtles were killed, and oil coated 162 miles of Texas beaches. Pemex, Mexico's state oil company, used the disaster to develop blowout prevention techniques that became industry standards.
June 3, 1979
47 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on June 3
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