Eugene Island Pipeline Spill; GOM, LA

Source report excerpt: “On Sunday afternoon, 26 July 2009, USCG Marine Safety Unit Morgan City notified the NOAA Hazmat Duty Officer of an oil spill 65 miles due S of Atchafalaya Bay. There was some degree of confusion as the NRC report was misleading. An alarm had signaled a pressure drop, but the location of a leak was unknown (the location reported in the NRC report was probably the distance to the initiating point of the pipeline). Later the same Sunday, a slick was observed 20-25 miles S of Lake Pelto in the Gulf of Mexico. The RP, Shell Pipeline, reported that their calculations suggested that the maximum potential of the failure was 1,300 bbls of 33.7 API Gravity Crude Oil. An oil slick that extend 7 miles […]”

Source report excerpt: “Evening Report The pipeline, which was shut in on 25 July, continues to leak an unknown volume of oil. For planning purposes only, we have estimated the leak rate as 100 bbl/day. The second dispersant sortie is in the air treating what is considered the leading edge of the slick. A total of 220 gallons of Corexit 9527 from the MSRC Air King platform was applied just after lunch in the same general area. The LOUISIANA RESPONDER is on-scene near the release point, and the GULF RESPONDER is due on-scene just after daylight tomorrow. SMART Tier I monitoring was engaged and the Tier II equipment and personnel did make it into the general area, but were unable to monitor due in part to a change […]”

Source report excerpt: “Evening Report, 28 July 2009 The pipeline, which was shut in on 25 July, but continues to leak, but the current release volume is thought to be relatively small. Pipeline assessment and repair operations are to begin tonight. A projected change in wind and updated trajectory indicated a potential for land impacts of residual oil from the offshore slick. Based on this information, additional notifications to state. In addition, Shell has put in play a surveillance strategy for 29 and 30 July along with plans for wildlife recovery as well as shoreline assessment and cleanup. Note, while we project that there is the potential for shoreline impact... the impacts are expected to be light and […]”

Source report excerpt: “Brief Update, Seas intensified during the night with reported seas in excess of 5 feet at times forcing the skimmers to cease operations. Winds and seas began to slacken by daylight. Skimming vessels have redeployed. Dive operations were able to find the leak. It was reported as a 21 inch linear creak with some deformation and 2 inch separation at the widest point. The release rate was estimated by the divers as “about a cupped handful every 10 seconds.” We are still trying to put a quantitative value on that estimate. The morning overflight is up, and we are awaiting the report. A preassessment shoreline flight and pre-impact survey by a field team are planned for today. Today should be […]”

Source report excerpt: “Resources at Risk for Eugene Island Pipeline Spill, GOM, LA I. Spill Source Information This report was prepared at 1400 EDT on 29 July 2009. On 26 July, a leak was reported in an offshore pipeline and a slick was observed 20-25 miles south of Lake Pelto in the Gulf of Mexico at 2843’16” N, 090 52’3”W. As of 29 July, following dispersant application it is possible that approximately 120 bbls of oil may make landfall this afternoon between Isles Dernieres to East Timbalier Island. II. Geographic Region Covered This report will cover GOM, bay waters, and land between the Isles Dernieres and Elmers Island. Consult other Hotline reports for oil location information. III. Shoreline Resources […]”

Source report excerpt: “Brief Update, 28 July 2009 After the morning overflight, a 9 mile by 1 slick was observed further NE of the position yesterday. The slick is composed of 6 streamers of heavier oil, rainbow sheen, silver sheen that thins into no observable sheen. This slick is believed to be the remnants of the original release on Saturday evening. The leading edge is still within the preapproval zone, and dispersants were applied while redirecting the MSRC GULF RESPONDER to encounter any remaining slick. The monitoring team reported that the application appeared to have some effect and requested a second sortie on the leading edge. A second sortie is in route and addition skimming vessels have been […]”

Source report excerpt: “Evening Report, 29 July 2009 After the evening overflight, NOAA reanalyzed the trajectory and the result was different. There is the likelihood of oil (whatever oil is left) stranding on the coast between Fourchon Beach and Grand Isle Thursday evening through Friday Evening. This change is based on the rapid change in slick position observed during the 1645 hr overflight this evening. To be honest, We (NOAA ERD) don't know how accurate this trajectory is given that the wind forecast and the dominance of the coastal current has been frustrating our efforts to make an accurate prediction. For example, this output is somewhat different than the one produced at mid-day. It is all based on what […]”

Source report excerpt: “Evening Report, 30 July 2009 The morning oveflight indicated that the oil had not migrated as close to shore as predicted by the pervious evenings trajectory (remember the caveats added in yesterday’s evening report). There were five fingers of oil on the leading edge some 12 miles south of Fourchon Beach. The streamers in the leading edge were estimated at 500 yards (looked like tiger stripes to the observers). The best guess estimate was that some 30 to 40 bbls of oil remained and the skimming vessels were actively working these. NOAA worked with the Environmental Unit to develop a SCAT plan and cleanup endpoints should beach oiling occur. NOAA also updated the trajectory analysis based […]”

Source report excerpt: “An overflight arrived over the source @0800 this morning. The source sheen has not changed. It is a cone less than 1 mile in length with 200 yards of rainbow sheen from the source and the remaining being silver sheen. The cone is approximately 300 ft wide at the widest point. The head of the main sheen is now greatly reduced and broken up into three smaller sheens. The sheen nearest to shore is in position 28°58'00"N, 089°34'35"W. This location is approximately 8nm from the head of Southwest Pass (the mouth of the Mississippi River). The leading sheen has some rainbow color on the far eastern end but is mostly silver sheen. The remiaining two patches are silver sheen. All three patches are […]”

Source report excerpt: “As of the overflight this morning, no identifiable sheen remains in the area of the leading edge. Shell and the USCG could not locate any remaining sheen. The source sheening remains about the same with the exception of the widest point now being approximately 500 ft. The repair operations continue with the support vessels at the source. UC conference calls will continue until the repairs are complete.”

Source report excerpt: “Based on the latest overflight update, it would seem that the response phase of the Eugene Island Pipeline Oil Spill has ended. I have attached a few additional pictures since the RP asked that we not use any of their photographs pending internal approval. There will be an after-action briefing with the RP (Shell), the USCG, State of Louisiana representatives on Wednesday. The NOAA team as well as other federal partners will also be in attendance. A final report will be generated after that meeting as well as an after-action dispersant report to RRT6. Charlie Henry NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator”

Source report excerpt: “Story ran 7/28/09 NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Coast Guard says the sheen from a 58,800-gallon weekend oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is now covering an area of 80 square miles. That's up from Monday's figure of 28 square miles. A Coast Guard spokesman said Tuesday that cleanup workers have recovered 1,000 gallons from the spill. He recommended that boaters avoid the area, about 65 miles south of Houma near Atchafalaya Bay, to not hamper cleanup efforts or navigate through contaminated water. The Coast Guard said a Shell pipeline released the oil Saturday for reasons that are still under investigation.”