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Protect Marine Life From BP’s Ultra Deepwater Gulf Oil Drilling

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Sponsor: Free The Ocean

BP’s new ultra-deepwater Gulf project could threaten marine life, fishing, tourism, and coastal communities. Federal officials must stop it.

Offshore drilling platform stands in deep blue ocean with a ship visible on the horizon behind it.

Federal officials have approved BP’s Kaskida ultra-deepwater drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico, a major offshore oil development planned in waters far deeper than many conventional drilling projects.1

Environmental groups sued the Trump administration over the approval on the 16th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The lawsuit challenges the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s approval of BP’s development plan, arguing the project threatens public health, Gulf ecosystems, marine life, and industries such as fishing and tourism.12

BP has said it is confident in its plan and safety systems, but Gulf communities know the cost of offshore drilling failure. When deepwater drilling goes wrong, the damage can spread through water, wetlands, beaches, fisheries, wildlife habitat, and local economies.

Marine Life And Coastal Communities Face Real Risk

The Gulf of Mexico is home to sea turtles, marine mammals, fish, birds, coral habitat, and coastal communities whose livelihoods depend on healthy water. The Guardian reported that the Kaskida project could operate about 250 miles off Louisiana and at extreme depths, with critics warning it could endanger marine life and ecosystems.4

The Center for Biological Diversity says BP’s Kaskida proposal fell dramatically short of legal and regulatory requirements.3 Earthjustice says the approval endangers Gulf residents, ecosystems, and industries like fishing and tourism.2

The lawsuit alleges BP failed to prove it can drill safely at the project’s location and that the company underestimated the worst-case spill scenario.5

Federal Agencies Must Put Safety First

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management records show the Kaskida development plan was approved in March 2026.6 That approval should not stand unless federal officials can prove the project fully protects people, wildlife, water, and coastal economies.

The Secretary of the Interior and BOEM Director should suspend the approval, require independent review of worst-case spill scenarios, evaluate effects on endangered and threatened marine species, assess climate impacts, and require updated public comment before drilling moves ahead.

Offshore drilling risk is not theoretical in the Gulf. Communities have already lived through disaster. Federal officials should not allow another ultra-deepwater project to proceed without the strictest review and safeguards.

Sign now to urge federal officials to halt BP’s Kaskida drilling project and protect the Gulf of Mexico from another high-risk offshore oil gamble.

More on this issue:

  1. Alexa St. John, Associated Press (20 April 2026), "Environmental groups sue Trump administration over approval of new ultra deep-water drilling project."
  2. Earthjustice, Earthjustice (20 April 2026), "Lawsuit Targets Trump Administration Approval of BP’s New Ultra-Deepwater Drilling Project in the Gulf of Mexico, 16 Years After Deepwater Horizon."
  3. Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Biological Diversity (20 April 2026), "Lawsuit Targets Trump Administration Approval of BP’s Ultra-Deepwater Drilling in Gulf of Mexico, 16 Years After Deepwater Horizon."
  4. Oliver Milman, The Guardian (20 April 2026), "Climate groups sue US government over approval of new BP project in Gulf of Mexico."
  5. Elise Plunk, Louisiana Illuminator (22 April 2026), "Trump administration sued for approving BP project in Gulf on Deepwater Horizon disaster anniversary."
  6. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, BOEM (13 March 2026), "Exploration and Development Plans Information."

The Petition

To the Secretary of the Interior and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director,

I urge the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to suspend approval of BP’s Kaskida ultra-deepwater drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Gulf is not an empty industrial zone. It is home to sea turtles, marine mammals, fish, birds, deepwater ecosystems, coastal communities, and industries that depend on clean water and healthy habitat. Fishing families, tourism workers, and Gulf residents have already lived through the harm of offshore oil disasters.

Kaskida would push offshore drilling into extreme conditions. Environmental groups have sued over the approval, arguing that BP’s plan failed to meet legal and regulatory requirements and that federal agencies did not adequately protect public health, ecosystems, marine life, and Gulf industries.

No offshore drilling project should move forward unless the public can trust the safety analysis, spill planning, endangered species review, and emergency response capacity. That burden is even higher for ultra-deepwater drilling, where containment and cleanup can be far harder if something goes wrong.

Please suspend the Kaskida approval and require an independent review of worst-case spill scenarios, containment capacity, impacts to endangered and threatened species, climate impacts, and risks to Gulf fishing, tourism, and coastal communities. BOEM should also reopen public comment and make all relevant safety and environmental documents accessible before any drilling proceeds.

The Deepwater Horizon disaster showed that offshore drilling failures can leave lasting damage. Federal agencies should not approve another major deepwater project unless every risk has been examined with full transparency and the highest safeguards.

Please halt BP’s Kaskida project and protect the Gulf from another high-risk offshore oil gamble.

Sincerely,

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