List of oil spills

This is a reverse-chronological list of oil spills that have occurred throughout the world and spill(s) that are currently ongoing. Quantities are measured in tonnes of crude oil with one tonne roughly equal to 308 US gallons, 256 Imperial gallons, 7.33 barrels, or 1165 litres. This calculation uses a median value of 0.858 for the specific gravity of light crude oil; actual values can range from 0.816 to 0.893, so the amounts shown below are inexact. They are also estimates, because the actual volume of an oil spill is difficult to measure exactly.

More information Spill or vessel, Location ...

Spill or vessel	Location	Dates	Estimated flow rate (tonnes/day)	Full cargo (tonnes)	Spilled (min tonnes)	Spilled (max tonnes)	Link	Notes
2024 Bayou Lafourche oil spill	United States, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana	27 July 2024	n/a	n/a	112	unknown	[378]
Northeast Brazil oil spill	Brazil	September 2019 – present	n/a	n/a	1,000	unknown	[379]	Worst oil spill in Brazilian history[380] and the largest environmental disaster ever recorded on the Brazilian coast[381] or any tropical coastal region worldwide.[382]
Lizama River oil spill	Colombia, Barrancabermeja	2 March 2018 -	n/a	n/a	3,690	unknown	[383]	Lizama 158 oil well spilled into Lizama River, contaminating Sogamoso River, a tributary to Colombia's largest river, the Magdalena.
OT Southern Star 7	Bangladesh, Sundarbans, Khulna Division	9 December 2014	n/a	350	300	300	[384][385][386][387]	Leak caused by collision of the oil tanker with a cargo vessel.
Napocor Power Barge 103	Philippines, Estancia, Iloilo	8 November 2013	n/a	1200	170	520	[388][389][390][391]	Leaks caused by Typhoon Haiyan.
Taylor Energy wells Platform 23051	United States, Gulf of Mexico	16 September 2004 to present (20 years)	0.03–0.05	n/a	unknown	unknown	[392][393][394][395]	Leaks resulting from Hurricane Ivan have been largely contained, but not entirely. Ocean Saratoga is periodically onsite servicing and attempting to seal the leaks.

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Note: The "flow rate" column applies to leaking wells, pipelines, etc., and is often used to estimate the total amount of oil spilled. The "full cargo" column applies to vessels, vehicles, etc., and represents the maximum amount of oil that could be spilled. The "spilled" columns indicate the total amount of oil that has been released to the environment so far, and should be based on official estimates found in referenced sources whenever possible. When official estimates vary, use the "min tonnes" and "max tonnes" columns to show the range of estimates (minimum and maximum) in metric tonnes (i.e. 1 tonne = 1,000 kg).

This graphic is limited to oil spills that occurred between 1969 and 2015 (graphic has not been updated for newer spills) and that affected US waters (land-based spills are not depicted). Unlike the units of tonnes used on the rest of this page, the graphic's numbers are presented in millions of US gallons (abbreviated as "MG" in the graphic), where 1 MG is roughly equal to 3,250 tonnes of crude oil.

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  • Largest oil spills
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