Coast Guard Takes Over Response as Oil Well Continues to Spray

 

Six days after a spill began at a marshland well site in the Pass a Loutre area of the Mississippi Delta, the Coast Guard has decided to federalize the response effort and tap the Oil Pollution Liability Trust Fund. As of Thursday, the well was still not under control and was continuing to spray an unknown amount of orange-brown oil mist into the surrounding water. 

The mixed oil and gas release began last weekend at a well near the Garden Island Bay Production Facility, an oil collection point near Pass a Loutre. Operator Spectrum OpCo LLC, the Coast Guard and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office (LOSCO) set up a response team and brought in multiple contractors to begin a cleanup effort. 

A well control contractor arrived on scene early in the response, and their source intervention and well control operations continue. More equipment for that work - including cutting tools, a capping stack, piping, a crane and storage barges - are now en route and are being staged for an operation to shut off the flow.

Image courtesy USCG

So far, the spill response contractors have collected about 33,000 gallons of oily water mixture, and the cleanup effort continues with support from 180 personnel, 12 skimming vessels and various collection equipment. About 12,000 feet of standard containment boom have been deployed, with more on standby as needed. 

No injuries or wildlife impacts are reported, and the spill is far enough from the main shipping lanes that it has not affected deep-draft marine traffic. A one-mile safety zone remains in effect around the epicenter of the spill. 

The well was previously decommissioned and has been out of use for 10 years, according to local WWLTV. The cause of the sudden failure is not yet known.