Offshore Louisiana: Vessel strikes inactive wellhead, causing oil spill (gusher)

[Emily]

Photo with story shows oil gushing into the air.

http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/Vess...193582291.html

Vessel strikes inactive wellhead, causing oil spill

Posted on February 27, 2013 at 10:46 AM
WWLTV.com

NEW ORLEANS ? The Coast Guard is responding to a report of a vessel striking an inactive wellhead, which apparently led to an oil spill southwest of Port Sulphur, according to the United States Coast Guard...

[Pathfinder]

Re: Offshore Louisiana: Vessel strikes inactive wellhead, causing oil spill (gusher)

News Release
Date: Feb. 27, 2013
Coast Guard Sector New Orleans
Contact: Ensign Tanner Stiehl
Office: (504) 365-2341


UPDATE: Coast Guard responds to oil spill southwest of Port Sulphur

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-->NEW ORLEANS ? The Coast Guard is continuing to respond to an oil spill in Lake Grande Ecaille Bay nine miles southwest of Port Sulphur, Wednesday.
Swift Energy, the responsible party, has contracted a barge to secure the wellhead. Response crews have deployed 1,800-feet of boom to contain the discharged oily-water mixture from the wellhead. The discharge coming from the wellhead is less than 840 gallons of oil being spilled per day.

?Our responders are aggressively attacking this spill," said Capt. Peter Gautier, the Captain of the Port for Coast Guard Sector New Orleans. "We?ve quickly mobilized boom to contain, skimmers to clean up spilled oil and operations to plug the well are our top priority. Well control operations will start tomorrow morning.?

Two oil-skimming vessels are on scene conducting cleanup operations. Two contracted fixed wing aircraft with Coast Guard aerial observers onboard have been conducting overflights of the impacted area throughout the day.
Coast Guard watchstanders received a report that the 42-foot crewboat Sea Raider allided with an inactive Swift Energy-owned wellhead Tuesday evening.

The Coast Guard Gulf Strike Team has been deployed and is on scene helping oversee clean up operations. There are more than 40 personnel responding to this incident.

The Coast Guard is working with federal, state and local agencies which include, Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinators Office, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and Plaquemines Parish as well as the responsible party, Swift Energy, in response to this incident to secure the well and contain and clean up any oil that is leaking.

Swift Energy reports the wellhead was shut down and became inactive in December 2007. The wellhead produced crude oil and natural gas.
The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the incident.

http://www.uscgnews.com/go/doc/4007/1712479/UPDATE-Coast-Guard-responds-to-oil-spill-southwest-of-Port-Sulphur