Gulf pipeline keeps leaking as rough seas hamper divers

[peejay 327]

Gulf pipeline keeps leaking as rough seas hamper divers

By HARVEY RICE

2006 Houston Chronicle

GALVESTON — Heavy weather kept divers from plugging a ruptured undersea pipeline about 30 miles southeast of here that has leaked about 43,000 gallons of light crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday.

Divers found a clean break in the 14-inch-diameter pipeline and plugged the landward side of the rupture with rubber buoys, but worsening sea conditions forced the divers to stop before they could plug the source of the leak on the seaward side, Lt. Mark Molavi said.

The landward side of the break already had been drained of oil, but the seaward side continues to leak about 500 gallons per day, Molavi said.

Repair operations were suspended until the seas calm, which may not be until Sunday, he said.

Jordan Janak, spokesman for Plains Pipeline LP, the pipeline operator, said, "The pipeline was moved by some outside force. It could have been an anchor but we can't say for sure."

The dive boat American Victory and the oil-skimming vessel Ampol Recovery returned to Galveston on Thursday after remaining over the rupture overnight, he said.

The motor launch Brutis was forced to cease oil-skimming because of the rough weather but was remaining at sea to keep a watch on the oil sheen, Molavi said.

Molavi said the dive boat reached the rupture site at about 4 p.m. Wednesday but was forced to cease diving operations at about 11 p.m.

The Brutis reported that as of 3 p.m. Thursday swells had reached 10 feet with winds of 20 knots gusting to 25 knots, he said.

Molavi said an aircraft reported that as of about 10 a.m. Thursday the sheen of oil was being broken up by rough seas and had shrunk to 0.7 mile long by about 30 yards wide.

The sheen on Wednesday stretched about 4 miles and was 80 yards wide.

He said the direction of the drifting sheen changed from south, away from the coast, to southeast, veering slightly toward the South Texas Coast.

Molavi said officials at the command center in the San Luis Hotel in Galveston did not expect the sheen to reach coastal waters.

An estimated 21,000 gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf on Sunday before a drop in pressure was detected and the pipeline was shut down.

Officials revised the total Wednesday, saying 42,500 gallons had leaked.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headli...ro/4432081.html

I flew over this spill on Wednesday morning on my way to work. Luckily it wasn't a high volume crude oil pipeline, but was instead a 2-phase natural gas / condensate pipeline or it could have been much worst.