US Coast Guard seeks source of some 1.1 million gallons of crude oil in Gulf of Mexico

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

November 20, 2023 1:27 PM EST


Nov 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday said it was still looking for the source of a leak from an underwater pipeline off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico that it estimated had released more than a million gallons of crude oil.

The 67-mile long pipeline was closed by Main Pass Oil Gathering Co (MPOG) on Thursday morning, after crude oil was spotted around 19 miles offshore of the Mississippi River Delta, near Plaquemines Parish, southeast of New Orleans.

"Overflight teams observed visible oil Friday moving southwest away from the Louisiana shore," the Coast Guard said, as oil recovery efforts continued and underwater devices surveyed the pipeline to find the leak's source.

While the exact volume of discharged oil was not known, the Coast Guard, which was leading the clean-up, said initial engineering calculations placed the volume of the leak at 1.1 million gallons, or 26,190 barrels. It added that there were no reported injuries or shoreline impacts so far, and the cause of the leak was under investigation.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-coast-guard-seeks-source-some-11-million-gallons-crude-oil-gulf-mexico-2023-11-20/

[Bayard]

1. Just look for all the dead marine life

[usonian]

2. The Coast Guard has a big R&D center in New London, exploring new ways to accomplish its mission.

And to think that I was present at the commissioning of the original facility in Groton over 50 years ago.

https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Acquisitions-CG-9/Research-Development-Test-and-Evaluation/Research-and-Development-Center/

[LT Barclay]

3. That's great!

I was able to win a grant from them for a R&D project, but I was told by a staffer there that it suffered from a "not invented here" mentality. We got the grant even though it was post 9/11.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/296435806_POPEIE_-_Probe_for_oil_pollution_evidence_in_the_environment

[usonian]

4. Very nice.

I was on a team evaluating replies to an RFP for oil pollution source identification. 70’s technology.

[LT Barclay]

5. That technology was key to the project and critical to enforcement!

That’s a great legacy. It would be a good story for the new museum