Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico: What We Know
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Divers searching for the origin of a substantial oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico — one of several spotted off Louisiana’s coast after Hurricane Ida — have discovered three damaged pipelines near the leak, though murky conditions on the seafloor prevented the team from finding the source.
The Gulf of Mexico is covered with a tangle of pipes, wells and other energy infrastructure, much of it no longer used, as a result of generations of oil extraction there.
Late on Sunday, Talos Energy, the oil and gas producer that had been tasked with the cleanup, said that it did not own the three damaged pipelines. The Coast Guard had previously said the spill was thought to be coming from an old pipeline used by Talos, the former holder of offshore leases in the area. The Houston-based company had been conducting an intense cleanup involving a lift boat and other vessels.
The New York Times examined pipeline permits for the area and identified at least nine pipeline segments operated by seven oil and gas producers within a three-kilometer (1.8-mile) radius of the observed origin of the leak. Some of the pipelines were abandoned years ago.
Where is the oil coming from?
In its Sunday statement, Talos Energy said it was not responsible for the leak off the coast of Port Fourchon in Louisiana. Instead, the company said its divers had found a broken 12-inch pipeline, not owned by Talos, that appeared to have been displaced from its original location. There were also two smaller abandoned pipelines in the area, the company said.
Talos ceased production in the area in 2017. The company said its divers and sonar scans had confirmed that its wells had been plugged and its pipelines removed.
The company was moving a lift boat closer to the leak so that the divers could more easily reach the site and confirm the source, a person with direct knowledge of the cleanup but who was not authorized to speak about the efforts publicly, said.
Lt. John Edwards of the U.S. Coast Guard said the agency had been notified of the divers’ findings. He said the original source of the discharge was unknown.
What’s the status of the spill?
The rate of oil reaching the surface has “slowed dramatically” in the past 48 hours, and no new heavy black crude oil has been seen in the past day, Talos said.
Lieutenant Edwards said the sheen in the area appeared to be dissipating. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, however, has reported a flurry of potential spills in a nearby area, as well as across the Gulf.
The Coast Guard continued to monitor the cleanup and efforts to mitigate any threats to the environment in the storm’s aftermath, Lieutenant Edwards said.
Do other pipelines lie close to the spill site?
At least nine pipeline segments, both in service and abandoned, lie near the leak site.
The data shows that oil and gas operators Cantium, Cox Oil and Cox subsidiary Energy XXI GOM each operate six-inch pipelines near the leak. Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, the Williams Companies subsidiary Discovery Gas Transmission and the privately held Kinetica Partners also operate or have operated pipelines in the area, the data shows.
The companies didn’t respond to requests for comment on Monday.
The Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, a subsidiary of the pipeline giant Kinder Morgan, operated a 12-inch pipeline in the area, permits show. But Katherine Hill, a spokeswoman for Tennessee Gas Pipeline, said the company transports only natural gas and that there was no indication of a release in the area.