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Offshore Oil Spill News

20 Jul 2023

Ecuador Oil Spill Blamed on 'human error' Sullies Waters, Local Beach

Credit: mrpeak/AdobeStock

An offshore oil spill near Ecuador's coast reached a popular beach on Wednesday, authorities said, while also showing up in nearby waters as one local official blamed "human error" following a preliminary investigation into the incident. State oil company Petroecuador, which runs the Balao maritime terminal where the spill originated, said in a statement it had mobilized workers to contain it but did not disclose how much crude was unleashed into the ocean. The company added it had launched clean up efforts.

12 Sep 2022

Amplify Energy to Pay $5M to Settle Criminal Charges over California Oil Spill

Crude oil is shown in the Pacific Ocean offshore of Orange County, Oct. 3, 2021. U.S. Coast Guard photo (Cropped)

California officials [last] Thursday said Amplify Energy Corp agreed to plead no contest to six criminal charges and pay nearly $5 million in penalties and fines in connection with a crude oil spill last year that killed birds and fouled beaches.The announcement was the latest legal effort to hold the Texas-based oil company accountable for a subsea pipeline leak that released some 558 barrels (25,000 gallons) of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Huntington Beach in southern California in October of last year.At a news conference broadcast live on the internet…

04 Feb 2022

Rystad on Nigerian FPSO Explosion: 'No Impact on Oil Price. Environmental Implications Still Hard to Quantify'

Video Screenshot

The Trinity Spirit FPSO, operated by Nigeria's SEPCOL, exploded Wednesday and started burning, and, according to videos shared on social media, sinking. However, according to Rystad Energy, the incident is not expected to have an impact on Nigerian production as the unit was not producing at the time of the explosion. Environmental implications, however, are yet to be quantified.According to a Reuters report on Wednesday, an industry source active in Nigeria's oil sector said the FPSO had about 50…

26 Jan 2022

Peru Investigating Possibility of Second Repsol Offshore Oil Spill

Illustration Credit:balakleypb/AdobeStock

Peru's environmental regulatory agency said on Wednesday it was investigating the possibility that Spanish energy company Repsol SA was responsible for a second oil spill in as many weeks off the country's central Pacific coast.The suspected new spill may have occurred on Tuesday as Repsol's La Pampilla refinery was withdrawing oil reception and dispatch equipment as part of an investigation into what caused the initial spill blamed on unusually strong waves triggered by a volcanic eruption in Tonga this month, according to the Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement (OEFA).The age

23 Dec 2021

Taylor Energy, U.S. Feds Reach $475M Settlement in Longest-running Offshore Oil Spill

Credit: Studio Barcelona/AdobeStock

Oil company Taylor Energy Co LLC agreed to transfer a $432 million cleanup trust account to the U.S. government and pay an additional $43 million to resolve a lawsuit over its role in the longest-running oil spill in U.S. history under a proposed deal filed in New Orleans federal court on Wednesday.The New Orleans company and federal officials filed a proposed consent decree to resolve claims arising from a 2004 incident when Hurricane Ivan caused one of Taylor's offshore drilling platforms to collapse in the Gulf of Mexico.

15 Nov 2021

Amplify Energy Pulls Full-year Outlook after California Offshore Oil Spill

Crude oil is shown in the Pacific Ocean offshore of Orange County, Oct. 3, 2021. U.S. Coast Guard photo (Cropped)

Amplify Energy Corp withdrew its full-year forecast on Monday, saying that a large oil spill from one of its subsea pipelines in southern California last month forced it to shut its operations in the region.In mid-October, the U.S. Coast Guard said about 588 barrels (25,000 gallons) of crude oil was spilt, about a fifth as much as it initially estimated, from a pipeline connected to an offshore facility owned by Amplify's unit.The oil and gas producer said on Monday that it was under multiple investigations by state and federal authorities over the incident…

11 Oct 2021

Southern California: Beaches to Reopen After Offshore Oil Spill

Shoreline crews conduct cleanup operations on Huntington Beach, Calif., Oct. 4, 2021.   - Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Richard Brahm 
U.S. Coast Guard District 11 PADET Los Angeles

Beaches in a southern California city that were shut because of an oil spill last week are set to reopen on Monday morning, authorities said in a statement.City and state beaches of Huntington Beach city will reopen as water quality testing showed no detectable amounts of oil associated toxins in ocean water, officials from the city and California State Parks said.Last week, some 3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons) of crude oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean, killing wildlife, soiling the coastline and forcing officials to close beaches in the cities of Huntington Beach…

06 Oct 2021

Pipeline from California Offshore Oil Spill was Moved 32 Meters Along Sea Floor

Crude oil is shown in the Pacific Ocean offshore of Orange County, Oct. 3, 2021.



A unified command has been established to respond to and clean up the oil spill off the California coast.

Official U.S. Coast Guard photo.

A section of the oil pipeline that burst off the Southern California coast was displaced 105 feet (32 meters) across the ocean floor, officials said on Tuesday, fueling speculation that a ship's anchor may have caused the environmental disaster.The revelation came as the U.S. Coast Guard and drilling company Amplify Energy Corp came under further scrutiny about the time it took to respond to the spill, amid reports that mariners first reported seeing oil in the water on Friday night…

05 Oct 2021

Why Is It So Hard to Clean Up An Offshore Oil Spill?

Crude oil is shown in the Pacific Ocean offshore of Orange County, Calif., on October 3, 2021. (Photo: Richard Brahm / U.S. Coast Guard)

Oil spills into ocean waters, subject to winds and tides and spreading swiftly over wide areas, are difficult to clean up.The 3,000-barrel weekend spill off the coast of southern California is nowhere near as disastrous as mega-spills like the Deepwater Horizon explosion that sent millions of barrels of oil into U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico. But swift movement of the liquids can kill wildlife and foul beaches before cleanup teams are deployed. Federal and state responders begin fighting oil spills by deploying diving teams…

04 Oct 2021

'Catastrophic' California Offshore Oil Spill Kills Fish, Damages Wetlands

Crude oil is shown in the Pacific Ocean offshore of Orange County, Oct. 3, 2021.

A unified command has been established to respond to and clean up the oil spill off the California coast.

Official U.S. Coast Guard photo.

A large oil spill off the southern California coast left fish dead, birds mired in petroleum and wetlands contaminated, prompting local officials to call it an environmental catastrophe.The U.S. Coast Guard, heading a clean-up response involving federal, state, and city agencies, said on Sunday there was an around-the-clock investigation into how the spill occurred.An estimated 126,000 gallons, or 3,000 barrels, had spread into an oil slick covering about 13 square miles of the Pacific Ocean since it was first reported on Saturday morning…

01 Jul 2021

L3 Harris Tapped to Deliver USV for Offshore Oil Spill Response

Photo courtesy L3 Harris

An unidentified "leading integrated oil and gas company" recently took delivery of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) from  L3Harris Technologies, a USV designed to help out during oil spill response operations.C-Tug 3 is an 11-ft. USV  outfitted with L3Harris' ASView control system,a system designed to enable USV remote operations from a land-based control station. C-Tug 3 is designed to execute pre-programmed mission plans and real-time teleoperation via a remote touch screen unit. Once deployed, the USV can tow an oil containment boom into position to prevent the spread of any contaminants.

23 Jun 2021

Taiwan: Refiner CPC Cleaning Up Offshore Oil Spill

Illustration only - Credit: 008melisa/AdobeStock

Taiwan's state-owned refiner CPC Corp has started cleaning up an offshore oil spill caused by a pipeline that cracked during the discharging of oil from a vessel at its Talin refinery, the company's spokesman said on Wednesday.The oil leak occurred on Tuesday at 2:18 a.m. (1818 GMT) and was likely caused by bad weather, the company said in a statement. CPC immediately halted oil discharge following the incident, it added.The incident will not affect the refinery's operations and…

14 Jun 2021

Shipping Influx Infuriates Israeli Environmentalists

© evannovostro / Adobe Stock

The first cargo ships from Dubai that docked last year in the Mediterranean port of Haifa were met by celebration in Israel. Flags waved. Reporters gathered. The prime minister walked the pier and gave a speech about the fruits of making peace.There was zero fanfare, however, when oil tankers began arriving at the smaller Israeli port of Eilat on the Red Sea in an arrangement with Emirati partners. Rather than washing machines and cleaning supplies for consumers, the ships unloaded…

20 May 2021

New Report Helps UK MCA Prepare for Offshore Oil Spill Challenges

Credit: Xodus Group

The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency's (MCA) future oil spill response plan will be informed by a new report that maps out possible threats to the UK's coastal areas, marine life, and traffic as a result of hydrocarbon releases from energy industry operation and shipping.The report on the review of the hydrocarbon release risk on the UKCS over the next decade was delivered for the MCA, by Xodus Group, in association with London Marine Consultants.The review evaluated the risk of a serious mineral oil release occurring in UK waters from vessels of more than 1…

09 Mar 2021

Gulf of Mexico: HWCG, Helix Extend Fast Oil Spill Response Agreement

Helix 4000 - Public Domain Image

Helix Energy Solutions Group has entered into a new agreement for offshore oil spill response resources with HWCG, a consortium of deepwater oil and gas companies in the Gulf of Mexico who have come together with the shared goal of quickly responding to offshore oil spills.Under the agreement, HWCG’s members are given the opportunity to identify the Helix Fast Response System as a response resource in permit applications to U.S. federal and state agencies, and to deploy the Helix Fast Response System to respond to a well control incident in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

31 Oct 2017

A Turning Point in Oil Spill Recovery

(Photo: Elastec)

Cleaning up marine oil spills can be a challenge as there are various types of oil spilled but only a few effective recovery methods. The three main technologies for oil spill recovery for inland and offshore waters are mechanical, insitu burning (ISB), and dispersant application. Absorbent booms and pads may also be used, but they are more effective for small fuel spills. Mechanical recovery, usually an oil skimmer, is a device that skims contained floating oil and transfers the recovered oil to a storage container or vessel.

19 Jun 2017

Autonomous Workboats: The Future is Now

Sea Machines is bringing autonomous self-driving systems to the world of workboats. At an impressive virtual reality demonstration seen late last year and then again at a frigid, late winter visit to the Boston waterfront, the future of workboat technology became all too evident for this writer. The late George Allen, former head coach of the Washington Redskins football team perhaps said it best when he coined the phrase, “The future is now.” If so, then Michael Johnson, the founder of Sea Machines Robotics has brought that reality to the marine industry. The technology company targets the emerging market of autonomous marine vessels. That’s not some sort of futuristic vision; those capabilities are here, now.

28 Sep 2015

MN 100: Elastec

Elastec manufactures and markets innovative pollution control and recovery systems. The company’s core competency is oil spill response: skimmers, fire and containment booms, boom deployment systems, portable vacuum equipment, workboats, dispersant spray systems, oil spill aerial surveillance systems, storage tanks and pumps. The company also manufactures floating containment booms and barriers, turbidity curtains and fumigation tarps in its Cocoa, Florida facility. Elastec Hydro…

01 Jul 2015

Shell Green Lights GoM Field After Cost Cuts

Royal Dutch Shell has given the green light for the development of its largest platform in the Gulf of Mexico after making steep cost cuts which made the deep water project economical despite low oil prices. The decision to pour billions of dollars into the Appomattox project comes as companies have scrapped around $200 billion of mega-projects in the wake of the sharp decline in oil prices over the past year. Shell has operated in the Gulf of Mexico for over 60 years. The region contributes about 17 percent of total U.S. crude oil production according to the Energy Information Administration and was the location in 2010 of the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, involving BP's Deepwater Horizon well.

30 Jun 2015

Ex-BP Engineer Deserves New Gulf Spill Trial -US Appeals Court

Photo: NOAA

A former BP Plc engineer deserves a new trial on an obstruction of justice charge related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans agreed with a lower court judge's decision last June to throw out the defendant Kurt Mix's December 2013 conviction. U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval acted after learning that the jury forewoman admitted to having heard in a courthouse elevator that other BP employees were being prosecuted over the spill…

05 Jun 2015

Jury Weighing Question of Whether BP Exec Lied About 2010 Oil Spill

A U.S. federal jury has begun its deliberations on whether a former BP Plc  executive lied about how much oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico following the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig in April 2010. Prosecutors and a lawyer for defendant David Rainey made their closing arguments to the jury on Friday morning in a case brought by the government over statements Rainey made to agents from the FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nearly a year after the spill. Rainey, BP's former vice president of exploration in the Gulf, faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison if found guilty of willfully making a fraudulent statement to federal law enforcement agents. The April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig led to 11 deaths and the largest U.S.

22 May 2015

US Oil Platform on Fire in Gulf Of Mexico

An oil platform caught fire and was evacuated in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore Louisiana in the early hours of Friday, though no injuries were reported, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Fire-fighting crews worked to contain the fire on Friday near Breton Island, 50 miles (80 km) offshore New Orleans, the Coast Guard said. All 28 people were evacuated from the platform. It was unclear what caused the incident or how much oil leaked into the ocean, but the Coast Guard said it has observed a 1.4 nautical mile rainbow sheen drifting southwest of the platform. The platform, owned by Texas Petroleum Investment Co, has an estimated 4,000 barrels of crude oil on board, the Coast Guard said. It was not clear if the company also operated the well.

08 May 2015

BP Wins Right to Appeal Gulf Spill Damages Claims

BP Plc deserves the right to have a federal appeals court review some damage claims awarded under the settlement to compensate people and businesses harmed by the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said BP did not expressly waive its right to appeal various claims determinations made under the 2012 settlement following review by a district court. BP argued that rules adopted by the federal judge who oversees that settlement compromised that right. BP is trying to hold down the costs of the settlement arising from the April 20, 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 workers and caused the largest U.S. offshore oil spill.