Gulf of Mexico 1979, the "Ixtoc I" oil platform in the Bay of Campeche suffered a blowout leading to a catastrophic explosion, which resulted in a massive oil spill that continued for nine months before the well was finally capped. This was ranked as the largest oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico until the "Deepwater Horizon" oil spill in 2010. On April 20, 2010, the "Deepwater Horizon" oil platform, located in the Mississippi Canyon about off the Louisiana coast, suffered a catastrophic explosion; it sank a day-and-a-half later. It was in the process of being sealed with cement for temporary abandonment, to
Gulf of Mexico Foundation Paul Kelly, a former senior executive at Rowan Companies, an oil drilling firm. Other board members are executives from Shell Oil Company, ConocoPhillips, Transocean oil drilling firm, and legal, environmental and marketing firms. At least half of the 19 board of directors have ties to the offshore oil drilling industry. Gulf of Mexico Foundation partners include major oil companies and oil drilling firms, and others concerned for the environment. They include BP, Transocean, Marathon, ConocoPhillips, Shell Oil Company, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Rowan Companies and the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund. The Foundation has a reported $2 million annual budget, and one-quarter