Even though BP was majority American-owned and had changed its name from British Petroleum years earlier, anti-British sentiment flowed as fast as the oil, causing tensions in the prized “special relationship” between Downing Street and the White House.
The company mounted a massive clean-up operation (the total cost after five years now stands at $28 billion) and set up a $20 billion compensation fund but that did little to allay the fury.
On July 15 2010, after several failed attempts, the oil gusher was finally capped.