UPDATE2: The National Transportation Safety Board announced Nov. 18 that it has sent a 4-person team to investigate and determine the cause of the oil pipeline leak off the coast of Plaquemines Parish, offshore from Venice.
UPDATE: A pipeline on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico has been leaking oil for two days about 19 miles east of the mouth of Main Pass in Louisiana and reported by the pipeline owner, Main Pass Oil Gathering, a subsidiary of the Houston oil company Third Coast.
Main Pass Oil Gathering shut in a 66-mile segment of the pipeline system Thursday that runs from east to west to connect Gulf oil fields with coastal pipelines at the mouth of Main Pass.
The pipeline system, completed in August 2022, carries 80,000 barrels of oil per day from offshore wells to the coast.
It was unclear whether the pipeline was still leaking late Friday. Coast Guard Lt. Jason Yelvington said multiple overflights suggest the surface sheen contained 291 barrels of oil.
He said there was no projected landfall of oil in the next 48 hours, but Clean Gulf Associates was sending three 95-foot skimmers to collect the oil on the surface. The first skimmer was in place Friday morning, Yelvington said. (NOLA.com 11/17/23)
ORIGINAL STORY
NEW ORLEANS - The Coast Guard, Main Pass Oil Gathering (MPOG) company and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office have established a Unified Command in response to a crude oil release in the Gulf of Mexico on Nov. 16 near MPOG's pipeline system close to Plaquemines Parish, La.
An overflight by an MPOG aircrew confirmed the presence of crude oil. MPOG is implementing its federal and state approved emergency oil spill response plan.
MPOG has organized response resources through Forefront Emergency Management and local Oil Spill Removal Organizations including Environmental Safety & Health Consulting Services, Inc. and Clean Gulf Associates.
The Unified Command is coordinating with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Forefront Emergency Management and other federal, state and local agencies to ensure the safety of the public and respond to the incident.
There have been no reports of injuries or shoreline impacts.
Mariners are encouraged to report any observations of oil to Coast Guard Sector New Orleans Command Center at 504-365-2200.
The cause of the incident is under investigation. (Coast Guard 11/17/23)
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