These are the biggest oil spills in the world

The oil spill that occurred at the La Pampilla refinery —operated by Repsol in Peru— reached 6,000 barrels of crude oil, affecting more than 2.9 square kilometers of sea and coast. National and foreign authorities describe this event as an ecological disaster.

The images of the blackened sea and animals killed or affected by oil have gone around the world, confirming that, despite the years and technological advances, the extraction of this fuel is imperfect and continues to threaten nature.

Here are some examples -of the many that have been recorded over time- of oil spills in the world:

Persian Gulf

The worst oil spill in the history of mankind occurred in January 1991 in the Persian Gulf War, when Iraqi forces in their withdrawal from Kuwait opened the valves of wells and pipelines and spilled into the sea between 252 and 336 million gallons of oil, just over 1,600 million liters, according to the BBC in London.

Gulf of Mexico

If the spill in the Persian Gulf has been framed as the worst in the world, what happened in April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico has been classified as the worst suffered in the United States. The explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, contracted by BP, located in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico some 66 kilometers off the coast of Louisiana, caused the spill of around 795 million liters of oil into the sea, the death of millions of animals and 11 people.

Ixtoc 1

In June 1979, the Ixtoc I platform, an exploratory oil well located in the Gulf of Mexico, 965 kilometers south of Texas and 94 kilometers from Ciudad del Carmen, exploded and caused the spill of 560 million liters of oil. The parastatal company Pemex took nine months to control the flow.

Caribbean Sea

Two supertankers, the Atlantic Empress and the Aegean Captain, collided in July 1979 off the coast of Tobago, near Venezuela, spilling almost 290,000 tons of oil.

Uzbekistan

In March 1992, the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan was invaded by more than 88 million gallons of oil after the explosion of an oil well, generating a millionaire loss in an area known for its agricultural potential.

Cape Town

The Spanish oil tanker Castillo de Bellver caught fire in Saldanha Bay (Cape Town, South Africa) in August 1983, spilling more than 78 million gallons of oil and, although the environmental impact was minimized after the fire and subsequent capture of the oil, is considered one of the worst disasters in history.

France

In March 1978, the ultra-long oil tanker Amoco Cadiz ran aground on sharp rocks in Portsall (France) after a strong storm, causing the spill of 1.6 million barrels of crude oil and the contamination and extermination of marine fauna in the area.

Canada

The US-owned Odyssey oil rig exploded, spilling 43.1 million gallons of oil northeast of Newfoundland, Canada, in November 1988.

Alaska

On March 24, 1989, in the midst of a storm, the ExxonMobil-owned oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Blight Reef in the Prince William District off the coast of Alaska, spilling more than 11 million gallons of oil. and generating 250 square kilometers of oil slick.

U.S

Three million gallons of oil spurted from a leak in the Union Oil well 1,066 meters deep about 8 km. off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. It happened in January 1969, the oil covered 2,071 square km of ocean and 56 km. of coast, causing the death of thousands of birds, fish and other wild animals.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO