Well Intervention Contractor Brings Louisiana Spill Under Control

 

A spewing wellhead at an abandoned oilfield in the Mississippi Delta has been successfully sealed after a week of effort, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.  

On Sunday, a well intervention team working for Couvillion Group - on contract for the Coast Guard - cut the flange on the discharging wellhead, then installed a flowback assembly to gain control of the source and shut off the leak. The abandoned well had been spraying a mist of oil and gas into the air in a marsh near Pass a Loutre since April 26, releasing an unknown quantity of petroleum into the environment. 

Oil spills are common in Louisiana, but this was on the larger side. So far, the response team has recovered 70,000 gallons of oily water mixture from the site. To keep the pollution from spreading, more than 20,000 feet of standard containment boom has been rolled out to encircle the wellhead and the work site. Cleanup and damage assessment efforts continue, according to the Coast Guard. 

“Gaining control of the discharge is a vital milestone, but it marks only the beginning of our work. The Unified Command is fully committed to an exhaustive cleanup effort and will remain on site for as long as necessary to ensure the removal of oil and the safety of both the community and the ecosystem,” said Capt. Greg Callaghan, Federal on Scene Coordinator.

The well was operated by Spectrum OpCo, which is a unit of Houston-based Spectrum Energy, according to NPR. Spectrum OpCo was the responsible party; on Thursday, the Coast Guard decided to federalize the response and tap the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to ensure "continuity of operations."

Well 59 was a disused wellhead that had been decommissioned 10 years ago. According to NPR station WWNO, the well dates back to the Second World War and is now 83 years old; the unknown condition of the well below the surface complicated the response effort, WWNO reported.