Tag Archives: Oil Spill

U.S. grand jury accuses Amplify Energy of negligence in oil spill

(Reuters) -A federal grand jury has accused Amplify Energy Corp and two of its subsidiaries of illegally and negligently discharging oil during a pipeline break in California in October and failing to respond to alarms.

The Department of Justice said the indictment alleges that the companies, which own and operate the 17-mile (27 km) San Pedro Bay Pipeline, failed to properly respond to eight alarms over more than 13 hours on October 1-2.

The indictment also accuses Amplify and its Beta Operating Co LLC and San Pedro Bay Pipeline Co subsidiaries of shutting and restarting the pipeline five times after the first five alarms were triggered, sending oil flowing through the damaged pipeline for more than three hours.

Amplify said it investigated the pipeline but it was then not known to the crew that the leak detection system was malfunctioning.

The detection system was “wrongly signaling a potential leak at the platform where no leak could be detected by the platform personnel and where no leak was actually occurring,” it said in a statement.

The oil spill left fish dead, birds mired in petroleum and wetlands contaminated, in what local officials called an environmental catastrophe.

An estimated 25,000 gallons of crude oil were discharged from a point approximately 4.7 miles west of Huntington Beach from a crack in the 16-inch pipeline, the statement said.

An earlier report by the Associated Press showed how the spill was not investigated for nearly 10 hours.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler and Stephen Coates)

U.S. Coast Guard boards ship in connection with California oil spill

(Reuters) – The U.S. Coast Guard boarded a container ship on Saturday in the Port of Long Beach that dragged its anchor close to a subsea pipeline found to be the source of an oil spill off Orange County, California, it said in a press release.

The spill released some 3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons) of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean, killing wildlife, blackening the coastline and forcing officials to close beaches south of Los Angeles.

In its statement, the Coast Guard said an investigation had determined that the MSC DANIT was involved in the anchor-dragging incident “during a heavy weather event” that impacted Long Beach and Los Angeles ports in January.

As a result, it said, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A., which operates the vessel, and Dordellas Finance Corporation, the ship’s owner, have been designated by the Coast Guard as parties of interest in the investigation.

The designation allows the companies to be represented by counsel, examine and cross-examine witnesses, and call witnesses who are relevant to the investigation, the Coast Guard said.

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Dordellas Finance Corporation could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Coast Guard said the investigation was ongoing and that “multiple pipeline scenarios” as well as additional vessels of interest continue to be investigated.

Amplify Energy, which owns the pipeline, has said it was “pulled like a bowstring” about 105 feet (32 meters) from where it should have been.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

California port where spill occurred had numerous ships waiting to unload

By Jessica Resnick-Ault and Nichola Groom

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Reuters) – Ships in record numbers have jammed the port complex near this weekend’s oil spill in California, according to port data, as investigators look into whether a ship’s anchor could have hit a pipeline to cause the leak.

More than 3,000 barrels of oil leaked into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California over the weekend, killing wildlife, damaging sensitive environmental areas and closing beaches. Officials are investigating whether an anchor could have hit the pipeline, owned by Amplify Energy Corp of Houston.

An anchor strike is a plausible explanation, said two former Amplify employees who asked not to be named. They noted that anchor strikes have dented or scratched offshore pipelines before.

There were certainly more anchors in the area due to supply chain bottlenecks as consumer demand has rebounded from the depths of the pandemic. As of Tuesday morning, there were 63 container ships in San Pedro Bay waiting to unload at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California. On Sept. 19, a COVID-era record 97 ships were backed up.

Prior to the pandemic, there was typically no more than one container ship at anchor in the bay, according to Captain Kip Louttit of the Marine Exchange, who added that anchorages around the port have been full for the last year.

“All ships were anchored where they were supposed to be,” Louttit said of the vessel backup.

The spill closed numerous beaches and has killed wildlife in Orange County, south of Los Angeles. On Monday, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said a separate investigation is being conducted to determine the cause, and that Amplify could face civil and criminal liability.

Environmental watchdog group SkyTruth said satellite imagery from Oct. 1, the day before the spill was reported, shows cargo ships anchored near the area where the pipeline runs, according to government maps. The closest, however, was about 450 meters away from the pipeline, SkyTruth President John Amos said.

“That seems like a comfortably long distance to separate that pipeline from that ship, but one thing I don’t know is how accurate is this government data on exactly where this pipeline sits on the seafloor,” Amos said in an interview.

The pipeline runs along the ocean floor from the Elly platform, located in 255 feet of water, then heads toward port. Some sections are buried and some are above the sand.

The company and contractors patrol the pipeline by boat about once a week, with workers looking for clues of a possible spill, leak or anomaly. Chemical analysts test the product coming out of the pipeline for iron, which could indicate corrosion or metal loss in the line.

Metal devices called “smart pigs” are run through the pipeline about every three years to check for anomalies. The last such test was conducted in 2019, Amplify Energy CEO Martyn Willsher said at a news conference Monday.

Huntington Beach, about 40 miles (65 km) south of Los Angeles, had 13 square miles (34 square km) of ocean and portions of its coastline “covered in oil,” said Mayor Kim Carr. The town, which advertises itself as Surf City USA, is one of the rare places in Southern California where oil platforms are visible from the beach.

Angry residents blasted what they called a slow initial response to the spill. Already, one lawsuit has been filed against Amplify by a local DJ, Peter Moses Gutierrez Jr.

Some 23 oil and gas production facilities operate in federal waters off the California coast, according to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Amplify’s Beta Offshore unit has three, including the Elly offshore platform, where the pipeline was connected.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom, Jessica Resnick Ault, Lisa Baertlein and Daniel Trotta; Editing by David Gregorio)

Investigators probing cause of major California offshore oil spill

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (Reuters) -Federal and state investigators on Monday were probing what caused some 126,000 gallons of crude oil to leak into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California.

Huntington Beach, about 40 miles (65 km) south of Los Angeles, was hit hardest with some 13 square miles (34 square km) of ocean and portions of its coastline “covered in oil,” said Mayor Kim Carr.

The oil appeared to come from a production platform operated by Beta Offshore, a California subsidiary of Houston-based offshore crude oil producer Amplify Energy Corporation. Amplify on Monday did not immediately return a call seeking information.

Federal officials have stepped up their scrutiny of aging and idled offshore energy pipelines. Energy companies have built 40,000 miles (64,000 km) of oil and gas pipelines in federal offshore waters since the 1940s.

Regulators have failed to address the risks from idled pipelines, platforms and other infrastructure on the sea floor, the watchdog U.S. Government Accountability Office said this year.

“As pipelines age, they are more susceptible to damage from corrosion, mudslides and sea floor erosion,” GAO said.

Martyn Willsher, an Amplify executive, said on Sunday a pipeline carrying oil from the platform had been shut off and its remaining oil suctioned out. Divers were trying to determine where and why the spill occurred, he said.

Officials deployed 2,050 feet (625 meters) of protective booms, which help contain and slow the oil flows, and about 3,150 gallons had been recovered on Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen and Gene Blevins; Editing by Howard Goller)

Chemical cargo ship sinks off Sri Lanka, fouling rich fishing waters

By Waruna Karunatilake and Alasdair Pal

COLOMBO (Reuters) – A cargo ship carrying tonnes of chemicals sank off Sri Lanka’s west coast, its navy said on Wednesday, and tonnes of plastic pellets have fouled the country’s rich fishing waters in one of its worst-ever marine disasters.

The government on Wednesday suspended fishing along an 80-km (50-mile) stretch of the island’s coastline, affecting 5,600 fishing boats, and hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to clean affected beaches.

The Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl, carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid along with other chemicals and cosmetics, was anchored off Sri Lanka’s west coast when a fire erupted onboard after an explosion on May 20.

Flaming containers laden with chemicals tumbled into the sea from the ship’s deck as emergency crews sought to contain the blaze over the ensuing two weeks.

The craft began to sink early on Wednesday, and a salvage crew tried to tow the vessel to deeper water away from the coast, Fisheries Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said in a tweet, but the attempt was abandoned after several hours.

“The towing of the fire-engulfed X-Press Pearl ship was stopped due to the rear end of the vessel hitting the sea bed,” navy spokesman Captain Indika de Silva told Reuters.

Photos taken by the country’s air force showed the charred wreck of the ship spewing white smoke as it listed to the right and began sinking, and part of it soon touched the seabed, just 22 meters (73 feet) deep in the immediate area.

The navy was preparing to deal with an oil spill after the ship sank, Silva added.

“The ship has dealt a death blow to our lives,” said Joshua Anthony, head of a region fishing union. “We can’t go into the sea which means we can’t make a living.”

The MV X-Press Pearl had left the port of Hazira in India on May 15 and was on its way to Singapore via Colombo.

(Reporting by Waruna Karunatilake in Colombo and Alasdair Pal in New Delhi; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Gasoline prices spike as Colonial begins bypass around damaged line

Out of fuel signs are pictured on gas pumps at a Mapco gas station at Spence Lane and Lebanon Pike in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.

By David Gaffen

(Reuters) – Retail gasoline prices surged due to continuing problems with Colonial Pipeline Co’s gasoline line that carries fuel to the U.S. East Coast, as the company started to construct a bypass line around the leak.

Colonial said on Saturday evening that it would construct a bypass that circumvents the leak, which occurred more than a week ago in Shelby County, Alabama. It is unclear when construction will be completed but the company has previously said it anticipates reopening the line, which can carry up to 1.2 million barrels of gasoline a day, later this week.

The volume of the spill is estimated to be between 6,000 and 8,000 barrels.

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in Georgia rose to $2.26 as of Sunday morning, according motorists’ advocacy group AAA, up more than six cents overnight and more than 15 cents in a week. Prices were up 4 cents in North Carolina to $2.136 and 4 cents in South Carolina to $2.011.

Local media reports have shown gasoline lines forming across the U.S. Southeast due to the shutdown and analysts believe that retail prices could be affected for more than two weeks. New York gasoline futures are up 9 percent in the past week, and rose 0.68 percent to $1.4715 a gallon after the market opened for trading at 6 p.m. EDT on Sunday (0000 GMT Monday).

Colonial shut its main gasoline and distillate lines that run from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast on Sept. 9 after the leak was discovered. The damaged Line 1 can carry 1.2 million barrels of gasoline per day and runs from Houston to Greensboro, North Carolina.

Several states in the Southeast have issued emergency orders waiving certain rules that restrict transport of fuel by road in order to keep filling stations stocked with fuel. It is unclear how quickly the pipeline will be fixed.

“I don’t take much solace in Colonial’s updates,” said Patrick DeHaan, a petroleum analyst who writes a blog called Gas Buddy.

He said prices are moving up roughly one-tenth of 1 cent every hour and that it could take several weeks before prices return to normal.

A Colonial spokeswoman had no immediate response to DeHaan’s assertion.

However, James Williams of WTRG in London, Arkansas, said the projected timeline for restart is possible, even with testing required by federal authorities. He also said consumers’ tendencies to top off their tanks when this type of news hits is not necessarily cause for alarm, either.

“The shortage appears greater because people are filling up more often so you are certain there is a shortage because there are lines at the station but on average they are only purchasing the quarter of a tank of gas instead of three-quarters,” he said.

DeHaan said prices at non-branded chains were rising more quickly than those with larger, branded operations, because larger regional gasoline companies have the ability to tap supply more quickly.

Coming into this week, U.S. East Coast inventories of total motor gasoline, which includes blending components, was higher seasonally than in the past 10 years, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

(Reporting By David Gaffen and Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Bill Trott)

Oil Spill Closes Mississippi River

Parts of the Mississippi River were shut down Sunday and remained closed Monday after a weekend collision spilled gallons of sweet crude oil into the river. 

A 65-mile stretch of the river is closed to traffic and a Coast Guard spokesman said they are working with local officials and cleanup crews to see when the river might be able to re-open to traffic.

As of Sunday night, 26 vessels were waiting to go up or down river.  Officials stopped barge traffic in an attempt to keep the oil from spreading in the river and to keep the oil from contaminating passing vessels.

A barge being pushed by a tugboat collided with another barge carrying grain to cause the spill.

Public drinking water intakes on the river were shut and local officials say they were closed in time to keep the oil from contaminating drinking water systems.

The Port of New Orleans is closed because of the spill although two cruise ships were permitted to leave the ports to being their sea voyages.