A wellhead and pipeline in the shallow waters offshore Louisiana is spewing oil and natural gas into the air after a tug boat hit the well structure.
In the very early hours of July 27, the tug boat Pere AnnaC struck the wellhead while it was pushing the dredge barge Captain Buford Berry.
The US Coast Guard immediately responded to the allision, establishing a 2-mile safety zone to protect vessels, and both hard and sorbent boom have been deployed in an attempt to corral any spilled oil.
Escaping oil and gas in the form of an orange and brown mist is reaching up to 100 feet in the air since the tug boat hit the well and pipeline while it was exiting Mud Lake.
According to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, two crews have been mobilized from the Deepwater Horizon Spill response team to help with the clean-up efforts. Additionally, a company has been contracted and deployed to the wellsite to cap and seal the leaking well.
“Once the leak source is secured, the Coast Guard will ramp up their skimming operations to collect free-floating oil,” said Gov. Jindal. “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.”
Located about 65 miles south of New Orleans near Bayou St. Denis in the Barataria Bay, the oil spill is stretching about a mile across the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Various media are reporting that the company that owns the well is Houston-based Cedyco Corp.
The amount of hydrocarbons escaping from the well has not yet been determined. The cause of the accident is being investigated.
The US Coast Guard Gulf Strike Team was mobilized from Alabama, and the Coast Guard has enacted the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to monetarily support the clean-up efforts related to the spill.
