Gulf of Mexico Foundation of its funding comes from corporations, including oil and gas companies. While the remaining, three-quarters comes from state and federal government grants. The foundation website provides the most prominent credit to oil and gas companies. Media and consumer advocacy groups question the Foundation's close and questionable ties to the oil and gas industry. After the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico starting in April 2010, Quenton Dokken, the organization's director was interviewed by the New York Times about the severity of the then ongoing oil spill. He was optimistic, saying: The sky is not falling. We've
Montara oil spill 1 November. The West Triton jackup drilling rig arrived at the Montara Field in an attempt to plug the oil leak on 11 September 2009. Oil and gas producer, Woodside Petroleum Ltd offered to assist PTTEPAA in cleaning up the oil spill with the use of a rig closer to the spill site. However, PTTEPAA rejected the Woodside offer on the basis of "safety reasons". The Woodside rig was a semisubmersible drilling rig and, as it floats on the sea surface, was not deemed as a suitable platform for the relief well. A jackup rig was required because it could