All language subtitles for Butterfly.Effect.S03E03_English

(dramatic cinematic music)

- [Narrator] Our history
is no more than a series

of incredible events.

Every one of us can
influence its course.

(moderate rock music)

The most infinitesimal
of our decisions

can influence the
future of humanity.

To know the past is
to foresee the future.

Miami Beach, 2017.

On the idyllic Florida beaches,

vacationers bathe
in the summer sun.

Protected by a great barrier,

they take advantage
of the blue flag.

Today, the petroleum
levels in the water

are below the maximum threshold.

The cataclysmic oil spill
created by the explosion

of a petroleum platform
seven years earlier

will never be fully contained.

The Gulf of Mexico has
become a vast dead zone,

asphyxiated by the thick
and heavy blanket of oil.

All marine life has disappeared.

To save the American coastline,

an immense floating dam
was permanently installed.

But, none of this ever happened.

In 2010, the terrible
oil spill created

by the sinking of
the Deepwater station

was eventually contained.

2001, South Korea.

The petroleum platform
Deepwater Horizon

is operational and
ready to perform

its first drilling
assignment on the high seas.

On the evening of
April 20th, 2010,

the platform is on fire.

On the 22nd, it sinks to the
bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

Five months later, the
British Petroleum Society

finally manages to plug the
leak and stop the oil spill.

(dramatic cinematic music)

These three inextricably
linked events

are key moments in the
sinking of Deepwater Horizon,

one of the most serious
oil disasters of our time.

(gentle piano music)

Oil, black gold.

In our society,
wherever we look,

whatever we do, it is there.

It is the base of our
plastics and our roads.

It is how our cars run
and our planes fly.

Thanks to it, we have even
been able to walk on the moon.

From its use as a remedy
during ancient times

to the service
stations of today,

petroleum has benefited
humankind for more
than 2,000 years.

Buried thousands of
feet underground,

it has been fueling
our activities

for more than a hundred years.

Still, it was not always there.

For millions upon
millions of years,

in the depths of
the early oceans,

the remains of billions
of living organisms

have been slowly settling
on the ocean's floor.

Accumulating in
successive layers,

an infinitesimal part of this
decomposing organic matter

has been progressively
covered by sediment

and buried deeper and deeper
within the bowels of the
Earth.

Tens of millions of years later,

a strong pressure
and temperatures
rising to 150 degrees

have transformed these
particles into hydrocarbons.

This crude petroleum has a
tendency to rise to the
surface

thanks to the permeability
of certain rocks.

As it reaches the
upper layers of soil,

it becomes progressively
heavier and thicker.

(oil gurgling)

But, sometimes, its
migration is blocked

by a layer of impervious rock.

This is when it accumulates,
drop after drop,

creating immense
natural reservoirs.

Trapped miles under our feet,

subjected to intense pressures,

one only needs to
drill in the right spot

to make it spring
to the surface.

(soil popping)
(men cheering)

Millions of years
of fossil energy

condensed in this
slimy black liquid

are at the disposal of
anyone who wants to use it.

(gentle futuristic music)

- [Computerized Woman]
Welcome
to the memory of humanity.

Every historical event,
regardless of how small,

is recorded and connected.

You only need to change one
to upset all the others.

Here, we are able
to control time,

analyze and compare
billions of events

in order to rewrite
history in infinite ways.

For example, imagine our
world without hydrocarbon.

The most visible consequence
would be in transportation.

Our cars, as well
as trucks and boats,

run almost exclusively on oil.

Without it, we would have
stayed with the energy giant

of the 19th century: coal.

But coal is an energy source

much less powerful
than petroleum.

To obtain the same yield,

we would need to
cover the planet

in coal-fired power stations

and drill until the ground
resembled Swiss cheese

and the forests were in
danger of disappearing.

With a coal fire boiler,

it would be impossible to get
an airplane off the ground,

let alone a rocket.

Deprived of satellites,

we would not have cell
phones or GPS devices.

We would travel on trains,
steamers, or zeppelins.

Without petroleum,
plastic would not exist.

Plastic has revolutionized
our way of life:

medical and sanitary hygiene,

food packaging, and electronics.

Petroleum has been one of
the most powerful players

in humankind's development.

(machinery hissing)

- [Narrator] Titusville, 1859.

In this pioneer
Pennsylvania city,

Edwin L. Drake drills
and extracts petroleum

for the first time
on American soil.

Soon, the little town is
covered in oil derricks,

and the population explodes,

going from 250 to 10,000
inhabitants in just five
years.

The discovery launches a
veritable black gold rush.

(oil whooshing)

Up to this point, the
industrial extraction

of underground deposits
has been deemed impossible.

Drake's idea is simple:

suspend a drill, a
massive piece of steel,

from a cable, and use a
steam engine to propel it.

August 27th, 1859, he succeeds

in piercing a layer
of impervious rock,

which contains crude oil.

Gushing to the surface,

the precious liquid marks
the beginning of a new age,

the era of the industrial
exploitation of oil.

Very quickly, deposits are
discovered all over the world.

Oil companies flourish,
fighting in a frantic race

to get the best deals.

Production goes from
6,000 barrels in 1858

to 150 million in 1900.

From then on, oil is not
only used for lighting,

but also for heating and
powering car engines.

Petroleum quickly becomes
a pillar of the economy.

Countries are unable
to continue developing

without their own secure

and abundant supply
of hydrocarbons.

In the aftermath
of World War II,

under the combined
pressure of price increases

and rising demand for energy,

deposits, which were
previously considered

economically unsustainable,
are exploited.

We dig deeper and deeper,

under even more
extreme conditions.

We understand that
natural oil resources

are much more extensive
than the drilling techniques

are allowing us to exploit.

In the '70s, the petroleum
industry launches an assault

on the oil reserves
in the North Sea

which were previously untouched.

To defy the elements,

and obtain the deposits
buried several miles deep,

sturdy oil rigs are constructed.

(loudspeaker squawking)

This is the beginning
of offshore drilling.

- [Computerized Woman]
Giants of the seas.

An oil rig is a structure
designed to extract,

produce, or store
hydrocarbons on the high seas.

There are 17,000 in
existence around the world.

Among them, certain
are permanent,

and can extract deposits
located 1,000 feet deep.

Others, floating and motorized,

specialize in drilling
in much deeper waters.

This is the case for the
Deepwater Horizon station.

This type of rig, equipped
with giant floating devices

and diesel engines, readjusts
position continuously

to keep the drill
perfectly vertical.

Its derrick makes it possible
to lower the drill string,

a long line of hollow
rods screwed end to end,

several miles under
the ocean floor.

At the other end,
a hard steel drill

digs through the Earth's crust,

searching for a
pocket of petroleum.

As it digs, mud is
constantly added

to keep the drill
cool, evacuate debris,

balance the pressure,
and stabilize the well.

During the drilling operation,

the well is reinforced
using steel tubes and cement

to minimize the
risk of accidents.

The rig workers live
with a great fear:

a kick, or sudden
and violent eruption

of highly pressurized
oil or gas.

To reduce risks, a
complex mechanism

called a blowout
preventer, or BOP,

allows one to instantly
block any reflux in the tube.

In theory, if all these
security
systems are operational,

an accident cannot happen.

(helicopter whirring)

- [Narrator] April 2010,
the Gulf of Mexico,

45 miles off the American Coast.

The ultra-modern Deepwater
Horizon platform,

leased by the English
company BP, just finished

one of the deepest drilling
missions in history.

On the platform are 126
highly specialized personnel.

Their mission: drill the
wells, stabilize them,

and then leave room for
the exploitation platforms.

Deepwater is a
technological gem.

Thanks to it, BP is
able to reach deposits

that were previously
inaccessible.

Still, on April 20th, the
multi-national company

is behind schedule.

Each day, it is losing
around $1 million.

It is high time to reach
the last step of the drill,

the creation of the
temporary cement plug,

before another production
unit takes the relay.

11:15 a.m.

The team in charge of checking
the cement leaves the station

without caring all the of
the tests required by law.

For some time now, BP
has risked security

by squeezing budgets
and cutting corners.

The tests are
considered too long,

too expensive, and superfluous.

7:55 p.m.

On the drilling bridge,

the operations team
performs a pressure check.

The goal is to verify
that the cement plug

sufficiently blocks the
petroleum from rising.

The test comes back negative.

This is a bad sign.

This can indicate a
significant problem,

involve serious setbacks,

and prevent the
platform from moving.

So, they decide to use
another method of measurement.

The new results are
interpreted as positive.

But, three and a
half miles below,

thanks to a flaw
in the cement plug,

oil and gas begin
seeping into the well.

(suspenseful cinematic music)

8:52 p.m.

The pressure falls
in the column;

the well becomes unstable.

From the dark sea floor,

the hydrocarbons rise
uncontrollably to the
surface.

9:40 p.m.

A worker notices mud
on the drill bridge.

Quickly, he engages the
first security measures.

On the sea bed, the annular
of the blowout preventer

is blocked in order to
prevent infiltration.

It's too late.

The hydrocarbons
are already rising

at full speed inside the column.

On the drilling bridge,

a mixture of mud and
oil burst in the air.

The well is erupting.

(alarm blaring)

They try in vain to activate
the blowout preventer,

but, because of the pressure,
the tube has changed shape.

The ultimate safety
tools are not responding.

Tearing through the
darkness, the alarms sound.

Gas, highly flammable,
floods the platform.

The situation has
become explosive.

The horrible smell
of gas is everywhere.

One small spark is all it takes.

(platform exploding)

- [Computerized Woman]
Fighting an oil spill.

Petroleum does not
dissolve in water.

Because it's lighter than water,

a large part floats on the
surface in compact pools.

The immediate danger
is to the marine life:

Mammals who need to come
to the surface to breathe,

or birds who find themselves
trapped by an oily ocean.

Because oil blocks sun rays

from penetrating the
surface of the ocean,

it prevents the
photosynthesis of plankton,

and slowly
asphyxiates the ocean.

If nothing is done, the
final stage of an oil spill

is a dead ocean, in which no
organism is capable of
living.

To fight against
these pools of oil,

one can create floating dams

which help protect
the coastlines.

One can also burn the
pools on the surface,

or use dispersants, which
split
up the pools into droplets.

This will accelerate the
natural deterioration process.

If the oil manages to
reach the coastline,

the remaining methods to
fight against permanent damage

are very basic:
shovels and bulldozers

will be used to clean
the damaged beaches.

In all cases, stopping
the origin of an oil spill

is always the main priority.

Without that, the fight is
lost before it has begun.

- [Narrator] 11 people die
in the initial explosion.

115 are trapped on
a sinking platform

with flames raging everywhere.

Blistered by oppressive heat,

choked by hydrocarbon vapors,

the men mechanically
execute the gestures

they repeated dozens of
times during training.

The level of chaos
is indescribable.

The fire, fueled by an
entire field of oil,

burns out of control.

Rescued by a supply boat,

the men of Deepwater can
only contemplate helplessly

the extent of the disaster.

All know that the
damage has only begun.

In the middle of the
night, the Coast Guards

who receive the distress
call from the station

use the full power of their boat

to head in the
direction of the spill.

In the middle of the morning,

firefighters approach the
furnace to put out the flames.

It's a fruitless effort.

April 22nd.

At 10:21 a.m., the
Deepwater Horizon platform,

critically damaged,

sinks with 2,600,000 gallons
of oil on its surface.

(dramatic cinematic music)

The steel tube that connected
the platform to the well

twists in agony under
the weight of the giant,

then breaks and vomits an
endless stream of crude oil

into the heart of the ocean.

Millions of liters
of oil each day.

May 2nd.

To reach the leak and seal it,

BP launches rescue well
drilling expeditions,

but it will take months.

The race against
the clock has begun.

The fate of the Gulf of
Mexico is on the line.

Everything in the
arsenal is deployed.

Floating containment
dams, controlled burning,

attempts to reactivate
the blowout preventer

using underwater robots.

But nothing works.

A state of emergencY
is declared.

As of May 15th,
all attempts by BP

to stop the spill have failed.

The Coast Guard's authorized
the use of Corexit 9500,

a powerful oil dispersant,
sacrificing the marine
ecosystem

for the sake of the coastline.

Debates rage over who
has legal responsibility

for the hundreds of miles of
coastline already affected.

June 1st.

The bleeding lasts
for over a month.

In July, the efforts are
just beginning to pay off.

A new containment decreases
the flow of the leak.

Beginning of August, the BP
engineers manage to inject mud

directly into the drill string,

and slowly stem the flow of oil.

The well is
officially stabilized,

but it still isn't
definitively sealed.

September 16th,

the emergency drilling
finally reaches its goal

and injects tons of
cement into the well.

On the 19th, the nightmare ends.

It lasted five months.

All that remains is for
the bill to be paid.

- [Computerized
Woman] We have arrived

at a point of divergence.

A point of divergence
is a key moment,

a crossroads in our history
where our world can swing

from one side to the other.

The sinking of the
Deepwater station

resulted in one of the
worst oil spills in history.

After five months of fighting,

the BP company finally
succeeded in plugging the
leak.

Previously, in 1979,
another oil rig

had also exploded and sank.

The leak, which was less severe,

was stopped after
nine long months.

If BP had not managed
to control the leak,

the environmental consequences,
which are already extensive,

would have been immeasurable.

The Gulf of Mexico
waters deprived of sun,

saturated in oil,
and devoid of oxygen,

would have become dead zones,

where life would no
longer be possible.

To protect what was left of
it, immense permanent dams

would have surround the US
coasts for hundreds of miles,

trying to give bathers
a sense of normalcy.

But, beyond the dams,

the disaster area would be a
dead sea abandoned to its
fate.

A petroleum ocean.

- [Narrator] Close to
200 million gallons
of crude petroleum

have been released in the
waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

The devastating impact on
wildlife and vegetation

is impossible to quantify.

The spill spread over
nearly 24,000 square miles,

killing hundreds of
thousands of marine animals,

and damaging 1,000
miles of coastline,

the most terrible ocean-based
oil disaster in history.

Yet, compared to
the global impact

of the oil industry
on our world,

it is unfortunately
only a drop of water.

In 2016, the
worldwide production

reached nearly 92
million barrels a day.

Extracting and
transporting all this oil

poses delicate geopolitical
problems, and fuels greed.

Only a few countries,
creating a kind of monopoly,

possess the bulk of
the world's reserves.

In 1970, the price per
barrel was at $1.80.

In 2008, it reached
$146, 80 times higher.

Each barrel that is produced
is a source of tension.

From the energy crisis of the
1970s to the 1990 Gulf War,

any oil crisis seems to be, in
essence, a political problem.

A motivation for development,

black gold is often
the impetus of war.

The economic and
strategic stakes are huge,

as is the direct
involvement of oil

and the emission of
greenhouse gasses,

recognized today as the main
cause of global warming.

Stuck between dwindling
reserves, wars,

financial stakes, and
climate challenges,

humankind seems compelled to
find new energy solutions.

But that is another story.

- [Computerized Woman]
Each liter of petroleum

is an ultra-concentrated
fossil fuel

that has accumulated
since the dawn of time.

A phenomenal power
trapped in tiny pockets

dispersed throughout the planet.

By harnessing it,
humankind has managed

to thrive as never before.

We are completely addicted
to this fuel source,

and use it without restriction,

even to the point of disturbing

the balance of the
global climate.

Thanks to oil, we
have known abundance,

but everything comes at a price.

We are currently living
beyond our means,

and squandering our resources.

This fossil fuel exists
in limited quantities.

Petroleum is not a
renewable energy.

The more we consume,
the less there is.

While demand is only growing,

supply will eventually drop,
and tensions will rise.

The post-oil era debate
raises many concerns.

Some think that we
should immediately

stop burning all hydrocarbons.

Others refuse to
sacrifice their lifestyles

and rely on science to
find new sources of energy.

The solution, as it often is,

is probably a little
of both options.

One thing is certain:

A period of important
changes is imminent.

Changes at least as monumental

as the ones that followed
the discovery of oil.

(dramatic cinematic music)