April 2010 marked a catastrophe of an unprecedented scale in the Gulf of Mexico that was undoubtedly a turning point for the future of offshore drilling not only in the United States, but worldwide. On April 20, the Macondo well that was situated 50 miles offshore Louisiana blew out causing the sinking of the semi-submersible Deepwater Horizon rig which resulted in injuring 17 and costing the lives of 11 workers and in having devastating environmental and broader economic impacts. On January 2011, the “National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling”, appointed by President Obama on 22 May 2010, handed over its report after a six-month intense research period.