20 April 2010
Deepwater Horizon rig explodes, 11 workers killed. The rig was licensed to BP, drilling for the oil giant's Macondo project at a depth of 5,000 feet.
21 April
115 remaining workers evacuated from rig.
22 April
Deepwater Horizon, worth in excess of $560m, collapses into the sea - producing a 5-mile long oil slick.
25 April
Efforts to activate the well's blowout preventer fail.
28 April
The US Coast Guard warns that the oil spill could become the worst in American history, announcing that 5,000 barrels of oil a day (210,000 gallons) are leaking into the Gulf of Mexico - five times greater than initial estimates.
29 April
US President Barack Obama pledges "every single available resource", including the military, to contain the spill. Louisiana declares a state of emergency, Obama says BP is responsible for the clean up.
30 April
The US government rules that there will be no drilling in new areas until the cause of the accident is known.
BP says it will pay all legitimate claims and the cost of the clean-up.
2 May
Obama makes his first visit to the Gulf Coast. BP begins work on the first relief well.
6 May
Oil reaches the shores of the Chandeleur Islands off the Louisiana coast.
7 May
BP's 'top hat' attempt to place a dome over the top the well fails.
10 May
BP gains US approval to spray chemicals on the oil spill.
14 May
Obama slams BP and partners over the "ridiculous spectacle" of trading blame for the oil spill - after executives from BP, Transocean and Halliburton appear at Congressional hearings in Washington
18 May
The US almost doubles its no-fishing zone to 19 per cent of US waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
20 May
Greenpeace activists scale BP's headquarters in London, hoisting a flag over the oil giant's entrance with the words "British Polluters".
21 May
BP launches a live camera of the leak, as its containment rate drops to just 2,000 barrels a day.
26 May
BP starts its 'top kill' operation to block the oil well with mud and debris.
28 May
Obama's second tour of the Louisiana coast. "I am the president and the buck stops with me," he says.
29 May
BP chief executive Tony Hayward makes his first trip to the Gulf.
30 May
BP's 'top kill' plan fails. White House adviser warns the spill is "the biggest environmental disaster" ever faced by the US.
1 June
BP loses a third of its market value after its shares plunge as much as 17 per cent during the day's trading.
US launches a criminal and civil investigation into whether BP broke any laws in its handling of the oil spill.
4 June
BP fits a containment cap onto the well using remote control robots.
5 June
Obama's third visit to Louisiana, the president brands the spill "brutally unfair".
6 June
BP says it has captured 10,500 barrels of oil (439,950 gallons) in the last 24 hours.
7 June
BP announces that total clean-up costs have now reached $1.25 bn
8 June
Obama reacts to criticism over the US government's handling of the disaster, saying he needs time to look for "whose ass to kick".
With a final evaluation of the past 2+ months, we need to wonder, where are all of those Drill-Baby-Drill supporters?
They seem to be awfully quiet right now.
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