Worldwide Analysis of Marine Oil Spill Cleanup Cost Factors

Contingency planners, response officials, government agencies, and oil transporters share a keen interest in being able to anticipate oil spill response costs for planning purposes. Oil spill cleanup response costs depend on a variety of factors, most notably, location, oil type, spill size, and cleanup strategy, making it difficult to develop a universal per-unit cost factor. This study analyzes marine oil spill cleanup costs on the basis of country, proximity to shoreline, spill size, oil type, degree of shoreline oiling, and cleanup methodology to determine how each of these factors impacts per-unit cleanup costs. The results show that oil spill responses in different countries and regions of the world vary considerably in their costs most likely due to differences in cultural values, socio-economic factors, and labor costs. Location, oil type, and spill size also factor heavily in determining cleanup costs. Nearshore spills and in-port spills are 4-5 times as expensive to clean up as offshore spills. Responses to spills of heavy fuels are more than ten times as expensive as spill responses for lighter crudes and diesel fuels. Spill responses for spills under 30 tonnes are more than ten times as expensive