system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
What major environment impact differences are caused by a “typical” oil spill vs one that sets on fire?

Most people have seen the video of the Pemex oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which is spewing flaming oil into the ocean. My first thought after that it looks like CGI from a disaster movie was that maybe it being on fire could be good since the crude oil is burning and won’t just sit in the ocean damaging wildlife. Of course the burned oil byproducts are not good for the environment either and the extra heat I’m sure is bad too.

Basically as the title states if you’re going to have a massive oil spill what are the relative environmental impact differences of it igniting vs just spewing crude oil into the ocean?

Edit: People have pointed out in the comments that this was a natural gas leak, not oil.
gpt
The Pemex leak wasn't oil, it was gas. For a gas leak- the difference between burning and not burning is what gas ends up in the atmosphere. If it's not on fire, then mainly methane is released. If it's on fire, the methane turns into CO2 and water.