Louisiana well emitting oil, gas after vessel strike

[Ronan Kelly]

As if one wasn't enough......

Louisiana well emitting oil, gas after vessel strike
By the CNN Wire Staff
July 27, 2010 4:20 p.m. EDT

Smoke billows from a wellhead after a towing vessel struck it off the southeastern Louisiana coast Tuesday.STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A tug struck an oil well while dragging a barge in Barataria Waterway
The incident caused the well to release oil and natural gas
The well is owned by the state of Louisiana
Response crews are taking advantage of "significant resources" already in the area


New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- A towing vessel struck an oil well in the Barataria Waterway off the southeastern Louisiana coast on Tuesday, causing the well to emit oil and natural gas into Barataria Bay, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government's point man for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, said there was a sheen around the platform, and vapor that's probably a combination of gas and water was emanating from the state-owned well, called C-117.

continues at;
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/27/louisiana.barataria.bay.well.leak/index.html?hpt=P1&iref=NS1

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Louisiana well emitting oil, gas after vessel strike


Patrick Semansky / AP

-snip-
Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer John Edwards said a strip of oil 50 yards wide and a mile long was spotted on the water near the well, which was no longer in operation when it was hit. The extent of the damage beyond that was unclear.


US Coast Guard
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38429966/ns/us_news-environment/

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Louisiana well emitting oil, gas after vessel strike

Governor Jindal Visits Leaking Well-Head Site in Jefferson Parish

PRESS RELEASE
Governor Jindal Visits Leaking Well-Head Site in Jefferson Parish


GRAND ISLE (July 27, 2010) - Today, Governor Bobby Jindal joined Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle, Rear Admiral Mary Landry, and Rear Admiral Paul Zukunft to view the leaking well-head site that was struck by a tug early this morning. Reports indicate a tug was leaving Mudd Lake into the Barataria Waterway when it struck a pipeline/well-head in the vicinity of Bayou St. Denis. Following a flyover and meeting with Coast Guard officials and local elected officials, Governor Jindal held a press conference to provide an update on the leaking well-head/pipeline site and he also made a statement regarding the upcoming 100 day mark, which is tomorrow, July 28, of the BP oil spill.

Governor Jindal said, ?Early this morning when the tug struck the well-head/pipeline, the tug captain notified the National Response Center of the incident. Coast Guard officials allowed the tug to proceed to the Houma to speak with Coast Guard investigators about the incident. The Coast Guard said they have already activated the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which is managed by the National Pollution Fund Center under the U.S. Coast Guard, in order to support response efforts to this new leak.

?The Coast Guard?s overflight this morning confirmed the pipeline/well-head is discharging a mist of orange and brown oil about 100 feet in air.

This is the same thing we viewed on our flight to the well today. The Coast Guard does not have a specific flow rate for the well determined yet, although there have been early reports that there is natural gas and mud mixed in with oil coming from the well.

?The Coast Guard is also deploying response assets to the new well leak site. Rear Admiral Landry said many assets are already available from the mobilization of assets to the Deepwater Horizon Spill response. For instance, two clean up crews have already been deployed by the Coast Guard to the well. The Coast Guard says they have also dispatched a company to the site to plug and cap the leak, and they are expected to arrive around 5:30 PM today.

?The Coast Guard is also beginning oil spill response actions at the site ? deploying hard and sorbent boom both north and south of the oil release. Air assets have also been deployed to ensure response personnel are not working in a flammable atmosphere. Once the leak source is secured, the Coast Guard will ramp up their skimming operations to collect free-floating oil. We know this well is close to important marshes in the Barataria Bay area, so it is important that this well is cut off quickly and the oil is contained and removed.?

The Governor also highlighted that tomorrow, July 28, marks the 100th day of the BP oil spill crisis, underscoring the importance of the priorities laid out in the ?Agenda for Revitalizing Louisiana.?

Governor Jindal said, ?This oil spill isn?t done for us just when they cap the leak. There are still tens of millions of gallons of oil in the water that threatens our coastline. The oil spill is a marathon and this crisis isn?t over for Louisiana until our coasts and wetlands are restored to their pre-spill condition so our people can get back to their way of life.

?We have laid out a four-part Agenda for Revitalizing Louisiana that sets a pathway forward for restoring Louisiana?s coast through four priority initiatives: implementing a coastal restoration plan, certifying Louisiana?s seafood and getting fishermen back on the water, lifting the moratorium so Louisiana can refuel America and holding BP accountable until Louisiana?s wildlife, air and marshes are completely restored.?
The full ?Agenda for Revitalizing Louisiana? can be found here.

http://emergency.louisiana.gov/Releases/07272010-jindal.html

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Louisiana well emitting oil, gas after vessel strike

Leaking wellhead in Bayou St. Denis could be closed Sunday

Published: Saturday, July 31, 2010, 3:43 PM


Officials on Saturday began moving equipment into place to close a leaking oil wellhead in Bayou St. Denis in lower Jefferson Parish as soon as today.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported in a news release that the equipment needed to secure the leak would begin being moved to the wellhead location by late Saturday afternoon. The well has been spewing oil and natural gas since it was damaged early Tuesday by a passing vessel.

The leak marked the latest blow for a coastal community that has been severely impacted by oil that began spilling April 20 from BP's Macondo well about 50 miles offshore.

...

Read more:

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/07/leaking_wellhead_in_bayou_st_d.html

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Louisiana well emitting oil, gas after vessel strike

Leaking Barataria Bay oil well capped

By the CNN Wire Staff<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>cnnAuthor = "By the CNN Wire Staff";</SCRIPT>
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>if(location.hostname.indexOf( 'edition.' ) > -1) {document.write('August 2, 2010 -- Updated 1110 GMT (1910 HKT)');} else {document.write('August 2, 2010 7:10 a.m. EDT');}</SCRIPT>August 2, 2010 7:10 a.m. EDTAugust 2, 2010 7:10 a.m. EDT


New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- An abandoned well in southeastern Louisiana that had spewed a mixture of oil, gas and water for nearly a week after being struck by a barge has been capped, officials said.

The wellhead was secured at 6:05 p.m. Sunday (7:05 p.m. ET) and "is no longer emitting oil or natural gas into Barataria Bay," the Coast Guard said in a statement.

Officials were set to assess potential shoreline impact on Monday. Containment and cleanup operations were ongoing, the Coast Guard said.

.../
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/02/louisiana.barataria.bay.leak/