How Oil Spills Work
In late October 2026, oil from a tanker damaged near the Strait of Hormuz washed onto beaches in the United Arab Emirates. This film explains what happens next whenever oil meets the sea: what crude oil is made of and why most of it floats, how a slick spreads and why it shines like a rainbow, how evaporation, waves, sunlight and bacteria break it down, how booms, skimmers, controlled burns and dispersants work and what each one costs, what the Torrey Canyon, Exxon Valdez, Gulf War, Deepwater Horizon and Rayong spills taught, and how radar satellites spot slicks from space.
What the sea does to spilled oil
Where a slick goes, and how people get it back.
What oil is
Not one substance, but many.
A slick spreads
Thin as a soap bubble, and as colourful.
The sea goes to work
Air, waves, sunlight and bacteria.
Fighting back
Every tool has a limit.
Lessons from big spills
Alaska, the Gulf, the Gulf of Mexico, Thailand.
Seen from space
A slick is a smooth patch on a rough sea.
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