Spill is one of worst on the North Slope

[ensho]

http://www.adn.com/money/industries/oil/prudhoe/story/1046914.html


BP officials believe ice plugs caused pressure that resulted in breach


Officials have found a 24-inch jagged rupture in a pipeline that began pouring oil and water Nov. 29, creating one of the biggest North Slope crude oil spills ever.

The on-scene coordinator for the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Tom DeRuyter, said Tuesday that the breach on the bottom of the pipe was the biggest he had ever seen and indicative of the incredible pressure the pipeline was under when it split.

Workers located the source of the leak Monday after cleanup crews hauled away spilled crude and contaminated snow and ice that had been obscuring the area.

-snip-

The working estimate of the spill's size is about 46,000 gallons of crude and produced water, the oily water pumped up from the well. The line is no longer leaking. Cleanup operations are well under way, according to state and federal officials.

The 18-inch flow line had carried a mix of oil, water and natural gas from the wells to the Lisburne Production Center, where the materials were separated. About 25 percent of the material was oil, according to BP.

-snip-

The biggest oil spill ever on the North Slope occurred in 2006 when more than 200,000 gallons of crude leaked from a corroded transit line at the Prudhoe Bay field. That led to a criminal misdemeanor conviction for BP, $20 million in fines and restitution, and three years of probation, which the company is still on.
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and

http://www.adn.com/money/industries/oil/prudhoe/story/1040254.html


7,000 GALLONS: The 6-inch pipe carried produced water.


In the midst of cleaning up a major North Slope oil spill with an unusual twist, BP has reported another spill involving a different pipeline.

Officials estimated Wednesday's spill at more than 7,000 gallons of what's known as produced water, the water pumped with oil from wells and then separated from crude at processing centers. BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. discovered the spill at about 1:40 p.m. Wednesday and reported it to the state Department of Environmental Conservation about an hour later.

-snip-

The spill is the second since Sunday involving pipelines managed by BP. The Sunday oil spill still is being cleaned up as well. Officials say they have not pinpointed a cause or estimated the size of that spill.

The oil and water found leaking Sunday formed an odd, bumpy mound 5 feet tall, kind of like what might squirt out of a giant frozen-treat machine, state and federal environmental officials on the scene said Thursday in a teleconference briefing for reporters.

"One thing I will tell you, most interesting about this spill is the nature of the spill material. It is doing something that many of us seasoned responders have never seen before," said Matt Carr, the on-scene coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "You have this large dome of semi-solid material. The best way I can describe it is like a very stiff Slurpee or a very stiff snow cone."

Carr, who said he has responded to many spills in his 26-year career, called the mounded material a first.

-snip-

BP estimated that about 5,040 gallons remained inside the building, while 2,100 spilled onto the gravel production pad, known as R Pad. The liquid was sucked into a vacuum truck but some of the water froze. It will be removed with a jackhammer or by being flushed with more water.
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disgusting

one tick left on the clock

[sinkingfeeling]

1. "Spill, baby, spill", to quote Mrs. Palin.

[havocmom]

2. Would that me 'Shill, baby, shill' Palin promoting spill, baby spill?

;)

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

3. ^5!

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Drill baby drill, eh?

[spanone]

5. i want to hear palin's bullshit spin on this...c'mon baby let's hear it.