BP awards USF $11 million for Gulf oil spill research

TAMPA - British Petroleum has awarded the University of South Florida $11 million to study the long-term impact of the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

The announcement was made Tuesday in Washington.

USF's College of Marine Science is one of eight centers chosen from 77 proposals.

Funding for the eight centers totals $112.5 million.

According to a statement from USF researchers, "The goals of the research project include an effort to understanding what occurred in the epic 2010 spill and its long-lasting effects and research that delves into the scientific processes that occur in deep-sea blowouts to aid response and mitigation efforts in future oil spills."

Two other Florida Universities are included in the funding: Florida State University and University of Miami.

The Deepwater Horizon oil platform sank after an explosion on April 10, 2010.  Eleven crewmen were killed.  The catastrophe left oil gushing from the sea floor resulting in the largest spill in U.S. history.