Deepwater Horizon

• Many troubling details are beginning to come out about the explosion and sinking of the oil platform Deepwater Horizon, which oil giant BP was leasing from Transocean, the world's largest offshore drilling contractor.

• The platform exploded on April 20 and sank two days later, leaving 11 workers missing and presumed dead, and producing one of the largest oil spills in history in U.S. water.

Satellite Image

• NASA MODIS satellite image, taken May 23, 2010, of the Gulf of Mexico shows the extent of the oil released from the Deepwater Horizon spill. The oil can be seen as a sheen on the water surface. BP was weighing whether to stick with the tricky "top kill" maneuver or try something else to plug the gushing well that has caused the worst oil spill in U.S. history, its chief operating officer Doug Suttles said on May 29, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Gulf of Mexico

• An aerial view of the area where BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded last month and sank in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana May 27, 2010.

• More than 24 hours into its crucial "top kill" plan, London-based BP Plc said on Thursday it was still too early to assess the success or failure of its best short-term hope of plugging a blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico. (Xinhua/Reuters)

Leaked Oil

• Boats are seen clearing up the leaked oil, which was caused by an explosion of a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, on May 5, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters photo)

Oil Slick

• The oil slick off the coast of Mexico Gulf is shown in this photo shot by NASA satellite on May 24, 2010. (Photo: CRIonline)

Ecosystem

• Mexico and the United States have agreed to create a work group to evaluate whether a spreading Gulf oil spill damaged the ecosystem they both share. (Photo: people's daily online)