


An enormous amount of pressure exists in the well, ready to unleash oil and gas. Drilling an oil well is a lot like puncturing a balloon. Researching the Deepwater Horizon true story confirmed the rig suffered what in the industry is termed a "blowout," a sudden surge of oil and gas that bursts out of the well. What caused the Deepwater Horizon oil rig to explode? Propane tanks and other flammables became potential bombs on the decks. This Coast Guard image shows flames engulfing the real Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Had Mike Williams really been on a call with his wife just before the disaster? It was essentially a large boat that was floating on the water, unlike some oil rigs that are supported by stilts that reach the ocean floor. Its purpose was to dig holes looking for it and then move on. As the film emphasizes, the Deepwater Horizon didn't pump oil. The find had the potential of yielding in excess of 200 million gallons of oil per year. The crew had been in the final stages of shutting down the exploratory Macondo Well located more than 18,000 feet below the surface. It was the largest oil rig in the world at the time and had been digging the deepest well in history, starting on the seabed at a depth of 5,000 feet beneath the Gulf of Mexico. The Deepwater Horizon true story reveals that the rig was located 52 miles off the coast of Venice, Louisiana.

How far off the coast was the rig and how deep was it drilling? If one single family member objects to this project on the merits - not on the emotional part of it but the merits - then we’ve failed. … We need to tell the story the way it happened. I didn’t go looking for this, but I did accept the challenge of bringing this to the screen and getting it right to speak for my 11 brothers who can’t speak.
