Global Disasters/ Significant Events – October 12, 2013

Pipeline leak in North Dakota likely due to corrosion

The 20,600-barrel leak on Tesoro Logistics LP pipeline in North Dakota was probably caused by corrosion on the 20-year-old pipeline, state regulators said.

A farmer discovered oil gushing out of the six-inch pipeline, which carries oil from the Bakken shale play to the Stampede rail facility near Columbus, North Dakota, on September 29, said a report.

“This is the largest oil spill in the state since it became a major U.S. producer. It is the biggest oil leak on U.S. land since March, when an Exxon Mobil pipeline spilled 5,000 to 7,000 barrels of heavy Canadian crude in Mayflower, Arkansas.”

-=oOo=-

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Iraq Bloodbath

October casualties in the ongoing Iraqi violence so far stands at 381 civilians killed, and about 1,000 others wounded.

-=oOo=-

Majority of U.S. Citizens say: “The hell with the Congress!”

Six in ten Americans say they would replace every single member of the U.S. Congress if they could, according to a new poll by NBC News and Wall Street Journal.

As for the state of U.S. economy over the next 12 months, 42 percent of the people believe it will get worse, while only 17 percent are optimistic, and 38 percent see no change.

-=oOo=-

Conflicts of interest in the Syria debate

22 media commentators, and seven think tanks that participated in the media debate on whether the US should bomb Syria, had major  conflicts of interest, says Public Accountability Initiative.

The most egregious example cited is Stephen Hadley, former national security adviser to George W. Bush. “Hadley argued strenuously for military intervention in appearances on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and Bloomberg TV, and authored a Washington Post op-ed headlined ‘To stop Iran, Obama must enforce red lines with Assad.'”

“In each case, Hadley’s audience was not informed that he serves as a director of Raytheon, the weapons manufacturer that makes the Tomahawk cruise missiles that were widely cited as a weapon of choice in a potential strike against Syria. Hadley earns $128,500 in annual cash compensation from the company and chairs its public affairs committee. He also owns 11,477 shares of Raytheon stock, which traded at all-time highs during the Syria debate ($77.65 on August 23, making Hadley’s share’s worth $891,189).” The report said.

Hadley was presented to the audience as an experienced, independent national security expert, said the report. Read more…

-=oOo=-

Chevron-BP Pipeline leaks Oil into Louisiana Wildlife Refuge

Serial No  1,544 If any posts are blocked in your area, please drop us a line.

Another Year of Oil Spills in Our Fragile Ecosystems

Chevron, BP, Exxon Mobil Corp and all other oil companies are leaving too many indelible footprints on our planet

Raccoon photographed in the Delta National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana probably wondering  whether to wash hands in the water.

A Chevron pipeline leaked at least 18,000 gallons (68,100 liters) of crude oil into the Delta National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana, the U.S. Coast Guard said, Reuters reported.

The exact environmental impact of the leak has not yet been determined, said a spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife.

The leak discharged into a canal about 16km (10 miles) southeast of Venice, Louisiana, a Coast Guard news release said.

“A barge working for Exxon Mobil Corp was driving long pipes called ‘spuds’ to anchor the barge in place, and one may have hit the pipeline operated by Chevron, a Coast Guard spokesman said.” The report said.

Cypress Pipe Line Co, a joint venture between Chevron and BP Plc own the the pipeline, which is operated by Chevron Pipe Line Co., a Chevron subsidiary.

The Delta National Wildlife Refuge is located 16km (10 miles) southeast of Venice, Louisiana along the Mississippi River. The 19,000-ha (48,000 acre) originally designated as a sanctuary and habitat to wintering waterfowl, is marshland near the mouth of the Mississippi River southeast of New Orleans. Accessible  by boat only, the refuge now provides habitat for alligator, brown pelican migrating birds, raccoons and other animals.

Related Links

• Disasters Caused by Oil and gas Drilling, Oil Spills, Leaks, Land, Water and Air Pollution

Another Oil Leak Nightmare Made in Australia

Serial No  1,533. If any posts are blocked in your country, please drop us a line.

Australia Scores Yet Another Double Whammy

Chinese-registered bulk coal carrier runs aground Great Barrier Reef leaking oil.

Shen Neng I, a 230-meter (754-ft) ship on its way to China, ran aground on a shoal on Saturday, with 950 metric tons of heavy fuel oil on board, officials said, Reuters reported.

Oil is leaking from the Chinese bulk coal carrier Shen Neng I, about 70 km  east of Great Keppel Island April 4, 2010. Credit:Maritime Safety Queensland/Handout/ via Reuters

The authorities said patches of oil had been spotted in the water, near where the ship ran aground.

“Early morning flights over the carrier show a small number of oil patches about two nautical miles southeast from the ship. To date there has been no major loss of oil from the ship,” Queensland’s state government said.

The  ship was carrying 65,000 metric tons of coal from the port of Gladstone in Queensland to China.

Anna Bligh, Queensland Premier,  was concerned the ship could  break up. This time, her fears are fully justified. It would take a miracle for the ship NOT to break up!

“We are now very worried we might see further oil discharged from this ship,” she was reported as saying.

“It is in danger of actually breaking a number of its main structures and breaking into a number of parts,” said Patrick Quirk, general manager of Maritime Safety Queensland.

By far the most prophetic comment, however, came from Capricorn Conservation Council spokesman Ian Herbert, who reportedly  told the Australian Associated Press: “We can be certain that this is a sign of things to come.”

“We are outraged that no marine pilot is required on ships between Gladstone and Cairns,” he said.

“A year ago, Moreton Island, yesterday Great Keppel Island, next year — who knows where?” Herbert said referring to two of Australia’s oil pollutions.

The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef, world’s largest coral reef system,  is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland,  northeast Australia. It’s made up of nearly 3,000 separate  reefs and about 1,000 islands that extend over 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles) covering an area of about 350,000 square kilometers (135,000 sq miles).

The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia’s, the world’s, marine and climatic life insurance policies.

This nadir true-color image was acquired by the MISR instrument on August 26, 2000 (Terra orbit 3679), and shows part of the southern portion of the reef adjacent to the central Queensland coast. The width of the MISR swath is approximately 380 kilometers, with the reef clearly visible up to approximately 200 kilometers from the coast. If you retrieve the higher resolution version, a zoomed display reveals the spectacular structure of the many reefs. Source: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR . Click image to enlarge. Full-Res (JPEG): PIA03401.jpg (414 kB)

Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ)

MSQ general manager Patrick Quirk said the ship was badly damaged on its port side (left side).

“We are still very concerned about the ship. It is in danger of actually breaking a number of its main structures and breaking into a number of parts,” he said.

The Double Whammy?

Just imagine the combined impact of a massive oil spill and humongous avalanche of toxic coal on the fragile reefs, and marine life…

Just how much more dirty energy before you say enough is enough?

Related Links:

• Australia hit by another man-made disaster
• Australian Coal and the Planet
• Australian fires toll may exceed 200
• The Australian Clean Energy Ruse
• A Living Hell Heated by Australian Coal

• U.S. power plant explosion kills 50*
• 2010: Year One of Human-Enhanced Disasters
• Major Blackout Plunges Brazil into Darkness

• IF Nature Had a List of Extreme Dislikes
• Murphy’s law has no time vector!
• ConocoPhillips Alaska Head Killed in Avalanche

• Disasters Caused by Oil and gas Drilling, Oil Spills, Leaks, Land, Water and Air Pollution

Related News Links:

• Oil leaking ship may break up, says Bligh

Oil Giant Total Loses Appeal in Oil Spill Case

Total’s Guilty Verdict in Massive Oil Pollution Upheld by French Court

Total, the French oil giant, lost an appeal today to overturn a court ruling that found the company guilty of negligence for the sinking of oil tanker Erika, which spilled 20,000-ton oil off the French Atlantic coast  in 1999.

Maltese-registered oil tanker Erika, photographed from a French Navy plane,  sinks (December 13, 1999). The rusty oil tanker broke in two in violent seas off the Brittany coast, western France, releasing about 22,000 tons of crude oil into the Atlantic. Photo: French Navy. Click image to enlarge.

Appeals court in Paris upheld an earlier conviction and a fine of 375,000 euros against the company.

Erika, a 25-year-old oil tanker, broke in two on December 12, 1999, polluting 400 km of France’s Atlantic coastline. The oil spill which killed or injured about a third of a million birds, took more than three months to clean up.

In 2008, following “a seven-year investigation and complex trial that lifted the lid on the murky world of offshore-registered shipping,” a criminal court in Paris ruled that Total was responsible for sinking of Erika, an aging, rusty oil tanker,  and ordered the company to pay several million euros in damages.

The impact of Total negligence was long-lasting. Photo: Marcel Mochet/AFP. Image may be subject to copyright.

“Total, which chartered the rusting tanker that split into two off the Brittany coast, belching out a black toxic wave, was found guilty of negligence and fined €375,000 ($500,000). It was also ordered to pay a share of nearly €200m in damages to civil parties, including the French state. The Italian certification company that declared the vessel seaworthy, and the ship’s owner and manager, were also held responsible.” A report said.

“The courts decision establishes a legal precedent by recognizing that polluters can be held responsible for damage they cause to the environment.” RFI said.

The French Judge Joseph Valantin reportedly said Total had “committed an error of negligence that is linked to the sinking” of the Erika and it was as a “direct consequence of the serious rust corrosion” caused by “insufficient maintenance of the ship.”

Background Summary:

Erika slowly sank in the Bay of Biscay about 65 km off the coast of western France , spilling a massive oil slick of 20,000 tons of toxic crude into the Atlantic. About two weeks later, the oil began covering the shore, killing up to 200,000 birds and injuring more than 100,000 others. “Locals described a coating of black goo ‘like thick chewing gum,’  sometimes 30cm (12in) thick on beaches. Seafood was banned, fishing was suspended and volunteers rushed to try to clean the birds that were suffocating in what environmentalists called a ‘black tide.’  Some cleaned beaches were blackened again overnight as fresh oil washed in.” A report said.

“Some 270,000 tonnes of waste, made up of fuel oil, seawater, sand and stones, had to be treated in the Erika cleanup operation. Tens of thousands of sea birds usually wintered on the affected stretch of Atlantic coast and vast damage was caused to shellfish farms and fishing.”

Related Links:

• More images of Erika oil spill disaster
• The polluter pays: 30,000 tonne oil disaster costs French firm €200m
• Total loses Erika oil spill appeal

FEWW Links:

• Disasters Caused by Oil and gas Drilling, Oil Spills, Leaks, Land, Water and Air Pollution

Native Groups Nix Enbridge Pipeline

Native groups won’t allow Enbridge pipeline

Native groups on Canada’s Pacific Coast say they’ll  block Enbridge Inc’s proposed Northern Gateway project to carry oil sands crude from northern Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia, for export.

“The proposed 1,170-kilometre Northern Gateway line is to carry crude oil from Alberta tar sands to Kitimat B.C. where it would be loaded onto tankers and shipped to refineries along the Pacific Rim, poses a perilous threat to the environment and the very existence of aboriginal ways of life, said Art Sterritt, Coastal First Nations executive director.” The Province reported.

The Exxon Valdez, three days after the vessel ran aground on Bligh Reef. The Exxon Valdez spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, United States, on March 24, 1989. Some 41 million liters of Prudhoe Bay crude oil were spilled into the sea destroying a habitat for salmon, sea otters, seals, and seabirds.  Photo: NOAA

“Some people are saying (the pipeline) is a done deal. It’s not,” Art Sterritt, executive director of the Coastal First Nations, a coalition of native Indian communities in the area, often called the Great Bear Rainforest.

“Enbridge completely ignores the fact that the larger part of the pipeline is going through the traditional territories of B.C.’s First Nations. You see them here today in opposition.”

The First Nations alliance, representing 28 entities, have formally opposed the Northern Gateway project declaring oil tankers carrying Alberta sands crude will be blockaded. The groups are ready for a legal and political fight.

“Aboriginal leaders said their opposition to the project was strong enough for them to continue the fight, even if Enbridge gets government and court permission to build it—including blockading tankers.” Reuters reported.

“We are prepared to put boats across the channel,” Gerald Amos, a director of the coalition and a native leader from the Kitimat area, told reporters at a news conference in Vancouver.

The announcement came on the 21st anniversary of the Exxon Valdez tanker’s disastrous oil spill in Prince William Sound Alaska.

“And the Vancouver announcement was accompanied by national newspaper ads comparing the two events.” Reuters said.

Steve Wuori, vice-president of liquids pipelines for Enbridge Inc, Canada’s second-largest pipeline company, told the Reuters at Canadian Oil Sands Summit in Calgary that he was “chagrined” by the comparison to the Exxon Valdez disaster.

“It’s disappointing to see the dialogue over what is an important infrastructure project under stringent environmental standards and engineering practices reduced to a recounting of a 21-year-old incident,” Wuori said.

Enbridge digging the earth for one of their pipelines. Photo: Enbridge  Northern gateway website. Image may be subject to copyright.

The Northern Gateway Pipeline Project

Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway Project consists of two separate sets of pipelines, according to  Enbridge  Northern Gateway website .

The West Line will transport petroleum from near Edmonton to Kitimat, a distance of about 1,170 km, in 36 inches in a giant 915mm (36 inch) diameter pipe carrying an average of 2.1 million liters (525,000 barrels) of petroleum per day.

The East Line will transport condensate from Kitimat to near Edmonton in a large 510mm pipeline of 193,000 barrels of condensate per day. The condensate is needed to thin bitumen (heavy petroleum products) for pipeline transport.

Enbridge Northern Gateway project proposed double pipelines map. Photo: Enbridge  Northern gateway website. Image may be subject to copyright. Click image to enlarge.

At least 125 groups, businesses, environmental organizations and prominent Canadians oppose the Northern Gateway project.

News Links:

• Disasters Caused by Oil and gas Drilling, Oil Spills, Leaks, Land, Water and Air Pollution

Texas waterway polluted after tanker collision

Massive Oil Spill in Texas, Residents Scurry to Shelter

A tanker sustained a large hole the size of a billboard on Saturday after it collided with a barge in Port Arthur, Texas, releasing  a very large amount of  crude oil into the water, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The Eagle Otome  collided with a barge in Port Arthur, Texas. Handout photograph taken and released on January 23, 2010. The Coast Guard initial estimate of the spilled oil is about 450,000 gallons. Credit: U.S. Coast Guard/Handout via Reuters.

“The tanker was carrying crude oil to Exxon Mobil Corp’s refinery in Beaumont, Texas, located north of Port Arthur. The waterway, through which tankers carry oil to four refineries in Port Arthur and Beaumont, Texas, remained shut on Saturday night.” Reuters reported.

The collision tore a large hole measuring about 4.5 meter-by-2.5-meter (15 by 8 ft) in the side of the 250-meter (810-foot) tanker Eagle Otome, the Coast Guard said. No injuries were reported as a result of the crash, Reuters reported .

About half a million gallons of spilled crude oil released hydrogen sulfide into the air prompting port authorities to issue warnings recommending nearby residents to stay indoors.

A dozen or so people reportedly scurried to a shelter; however, the vapors quickly dissipated, according to the police chief, the report said.

The Eagle Otome  collided with a barge in Port Arthur, Texas. Handout photograph taken and released on January 23, 2010.  Credit: U.S. Coast Guard/Handout via Reuters. Click image to enlarge.

Port Arther sustained severe damage after hurricane Rita made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on September 23 between Sabine Pass, Texas, and Johnsons Bayou, Louisiana.Credit: Bob McMillan/ FEMA Photo (Date: September 28, 2005)

Related Links:

• Oil Spill Disasters

Yellow River Contaminated by Diesel Leak

Despite frantic efforts by 700 emergency workers to contain the spill, diesel leak contaminated the Yellow River

The Yellow River, the water source for millions of people, was contaminated by a diesel fuel leak from a broken oil pipeline in northern China, despite efforts by more than 700 emergency workers to contain the spill, China’s official news agency Xinhua reported.

Emergency workers repair the leakage on a diesel pipeline in Huaxian county in northwest China’s Shaanxi province, Jan. 3, 2010. The Yellow River, the water source for millions, has been contaminated by a diesel fuel leak despite efforts to contain the spill in a tributary, forcing authorities along the river to suspend water supplies. (Xinhua/Yuan Jingzhi). Image may be subject to copyright.

Some 150,000 litres of diesel had spilled into the Wei river in Shaanxi province following a construction, Xinhua had reported earlier.

The diesel spill had first entered the Chishui river, a tributary of the Wei. The Wei is a major tributary of the Yellow River, China’s second-longest, and the water source for millions of people.

The leak which occurred in a pipeline owned by China National Petroleum Corp., the country’s largest producer of oil and gas, has now contaminated the Yellow River.

“Running through eight cities in Henan Province, the Yellow River provides the source of drinking water for Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, two of the province’s largest cities [combined population of about 10 million.]” Xinhua reported.

“One third of the Yellow River is heavily polluted by industrial waste and unsafe for any use, according to criteria used by the U.N. Environmental Program.” Washington Post reported.

Related Links:

• Disasters Caused by Oil and gas Drilling, Oil Spills, Leaks, Land, Water and Air Pollution
• 2010 Disaster Calender

Oil Spills, Earthquakes and Faults

Oil Spills NO Different to Earthquakes

They Both Spell Disaster, Occur Because of Faults and Happen Regularly in San Francisco Bay

Earthquakes occur in SFB because of geological faults: San Gregorio fault, San Andreas fault, Mt Diablo fault… and Hayward fault. Oil spills occur there as a result of oil companies faults: Arco’s fault, BP’s fault, Chevron’s fault, ConocoPhillips’s fault, Exxon’s fault… and Shell’s fault!

You’d forgiven for thinking there must be an oil spill and an earthquake in the SFBA each day! Because you’d almost be right.

The oil slick from the Dubai Star, an oil tanker  located at Anchorage 9 south of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Photo: KGO-TV/ABC7 via Mercury News. Image may be subject to copyright.

The latest spill, a blackish filthy brown slick of bunker fuel, covered a 250-meter by  4-km stretch of San Francisco Bay on Friday, caused by a “refueling mishap” between an oil tanker, Dubai Star, and a service barge alongside, the U.S. Coast Guard reported.

The slick has not reached land and is in a narrow band because there is little wind and much of it may burn off amid warm weather, giving clean-up crews the upper hand in containing it, Coast Guard Captain Paul Gugg told reporters at a press conference.

“The weather is very cooperative. We’re all over it.” Gugg said.

Gugg said the scope of the contamination does not compare to the massive spill in 2007 of fuel oil from another tanker in the San Francisco Bay that spread across its shores and killed thousand of birds.

However,  Gugg didn’t say how much bunker fuel had spilled into the bay.

The spill comes eight days before the two-year anniversary of the vessel Cosco Busan striking the Bay Bridge in dense fog, ripping open its hull and spilling more than 53,000 gallons of fuel oil that fouled much of the shoreline along the well-known California waterway.

The Busan spill killed more than 2,500 birds and deposited oil on 200 miles of coastline, Pacific Environment was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile,

The unscrupulous oil giant BP has been fined $87 million for failing to remove safety hazards at its massive Texas City refinery, the 3rd largest in the US, where an explosion in 2005 killed 15 workers and injured 180 others.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited 270 violations at the oil refinery, officials said.

In 2005, BP was fined $21.3 million and ordered to repair hazards at their refinery, but it didn’t

“Lawyers acting for victims of the disaster suggested that the renewed action could put BP in breach of a plea agreement two years ago in which it pleaded guilty to a single felony and paid $373m to settle a string of criminal charges.” UK’s Guardian reported.

Related Links:

• Gulf of Mexico receives its regular ration of oil spill
• Meanwhile the magnitude of the Australian ecological disaster, the oil spill in Timor Sea, grows daily.

• Timor Sea oil spill costs $5.3m – so far
• First attempt to plug oil leak fails
• Second attempt to plug oil leak fails

Additional Links:

• Timor Sea Oil Slick: Growing Australian Disaster
• Major Ecological Disaster Underway in Timor Sea
• Australian Oil Disaster May Get a Lot Worse

More Links:

• Australia Fails to Plug Oil Leak in Timor Sea
• How Much Oil Pollution Is Too Much?
• FEWW Earthquake Forecast: Timor Sea

• Magnitude 6.8 EQ Strikes BANDA SEA
• Deadly Earthquake Strikes Java, Indonesia
• Exxon Pays Peanuts to the Monkeys

• 4m liters of crude spill into French nature reserve
• Old MacDonald Had a Fleet
• Shell Leaks in Shabby Style!
• Exxon Mobile Court Orders Only Fraction of Damages
• Another Day, Another Oil Spill in Alaska

• Chevron should pay $27 billion in compensation
• US Govt Sues BP America
• Australia hit by another man-made disaster
• Large spill at Canada’s oil sands terminal

Australia Fails to Plug Oil Leak in Timor Sea

UPDATE: Australia Oil Well on Fire

Australia’s Disastrous Oil Spill in Timor Sea Grows in Magnitude

PTTEP, the company responsible for the disaster, said they would plug the well and stop the leak by mid-October. They Lied.

PTTEP failed for the second time to stop the oil leak from the West Atlas rig which has been leaking for nearly two months. They don’t know when a third attempt to stop the leak could be made, if any.

Environmentalists have been calling for the company to reveal how much oil has leaked out so far and what actually caused the damage in the first place.

The rig’s operators now say that plugging the leak is an “extraordinarily complex” task, a statement which a far cry from their earlier assurances.

Sources say up to 500 barrels of oil a day have been leaking into the Timor Sea since the leak was first discovered on August 21.

Oil leak from West Atlas oil rig into Timor Sea. Photo: Chris Twomey/WAToday. Image may be subject to copyright. More Images …

Indonesian fishermen have reportedly found “thousands of dead fish.”

John Carey, a spokesman for the Pew Environment Group in Kimberley, Australia was quoted as saying that there was still too much mystery surrounding the cause of the leak.

“We are deeply concerned,” he said.

“We have been given repeated assurances that the oil spill will be under control. The Australian public has been given repeated assurances and none of those assurances have been met.

“It’s now seven weeks on. Two attempts. We’ve seen delay after delay. So clearly we are very concerned about when this is actually going to get under control.”

Mr Carey acknowledges that the operation to plug the well is technical and complex one, targeting a small hole about 2.6 kilometres under the seabed.

“But what we’re calling for is some clarity on what’s actually happened,” he said.

“It is still unclear exactly what went wrong. Now surely after seven weeks the company should be able to tell us what happened.

“What was the scenario that caused this to happen. Was it purely a technical fault? Was it a lapse in practice? But we just don’t know.

“Part of the problem for the environment sector and for a range of other stakeholders is the lack of information from both the company and the Government.”

Another widespread concern echoed by Mr Carey is the extent of the spill. Just exactly how much oil has been spilled?

“There have been some suggestions that we look at, you know, near production wells that were already under operation,” he said.

“But again it’s based on estimates. We are now, the conservation sector, looking at seeing if we can get in our consultant, industry consultant to try to provide us [with a] better estimate.

“But this is a ridiculous scenario and it’s a really unfortunate scenario.

“We are all grasping at straws, wanting information, basic information that the company should be able to provide.”

Related New Links:

• First attempt to plug oil leak fails
• Second attempt to plug oil leak fails

Related Links:

• Timor Sea Oil Slick: Growing Australian Disaster
• Major Ecological Disaster Underway in Timor Sea
• Australian Oil Disaster May Get a Lot Worse

More Links:

• How Much Oil Pollution Is Too Much?
• FEWW Earthquake Forecast: Timor Sea

• Magnitude 6.8 EQ Strikes BANDA SEA
• Deadly Earthquake Strikes Java, Indonesia

• Exxon Pays Peanuts to the Monkeys

• 4m liters of crude spill into French nature reserve
• Old MacDonald Had a Fleet
• Shell Leaks in Shabby Style!
• Exxon Mobile Court Orders Only Fraction of Damages
• Another Day, Another Oil Spill in Alaska

• Chevron should pay $27 billion in compensation
• US Govt Sues BP America
• Australia hit by another man-made disaster
• Large spill at Canada’s oil sands terminal

US Govt Sues BP America

BP America, BPXA may be fined $500m for repeated violations

The U.S. government has reportedly filed a civil lawsuit against BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc (BPXA) for violating U.S. clean air and water laws, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

BPXA is accused of illegally discharging at least 260,000 gallons (~ 1 million liters) of crude oil “from its pipelines in Prudhoe Bay onto the North Slope of Alaska during two major oil spills in the spring and summer of 2006.” Reuters reporetd.

According to the suit, BPXA also failed to employ proper spill prevention measures as stipulated by the Clean Water Act.

BP America Tower shadows the Fountain of Eternal Life in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Image source: outdoor webshots. Image may be subject to copyright.

“We have taken significant steps to ensure that our operations are safe and reliable, and protect the environment,” said a spokesman at BPXA, a wholly owned subsidiary of BP America, a part of UK’s BP Plc.

The lawsuit filed by DOJ on behalf of DOT and EPA seeks

• An injunction against future violation by BPXA, requiring the company to take appropriate action to prevent spills
• Damages caused by the spills
• Maximum possible punitive damages allowed by the law

“The state of Alaska also filed a lawsuit against BP on Tuesday, relating to the 2006 oil spill, but did not specify a proposed fine, ” said the report.

Since 1999, BP America has been found guilty on various negligence charges, or forced to settle for repeated violations including,

• Pipeline spill in violation of the Clean Water Act 2007
• Fatal fire in 2005 at BP refinery in Texas City
• Propane-market manipulations by BP futures traders in 2004
• Illegally dumping hazardous waste at its Endicott oil field on the North Slope in 1999

The company has been forced to pay in damages, fines and settlements a total of about $27m so far.

Related Links:

• Another Day, Another Oil Spill in Alaska
• Chevron should pay $27 billion in compensation
• This’s Got to Be the Year of Radioactive, Chemical and Oil Spills, Too!
• Large spill at Canada’s oil sands terminal
• Australia hit by another man-made disaster
• Exxon Valdez Disaster
• Prudhoe Bay Pipeline Spills
• BP’s Texas City Refinery

Finnish Oil Spill Threatens Baltic Coast

Naantali Oil Spill Spoils Åland Islands

Oil from Sunday’s spill near Naantali, south-western Finland, has drifted as far as the Åland Islands. Officials suspect that it leaked from one or more ships. Image: YLE Uutisgrafiikka. Image may be subject to copyright.

Location Map. Image credit: For licensing details click here.

A long slick of light fuel oil extending for more than 100km has been detected off southwestern Finland in the Baltic archipelago, according to officials.

It’s believed that ship traffic was the likely source of the spill because of the  slick’s location which in shipping lanes stretching from the port of Naantali to the Åland Islands.

“The oil is in the ice, but it has not hit shore yet,” Reijo Salminen, a local fire brigade chief, said.

he added that the oil sightings began in Naantali and ran parallel to a shipping lane to Ledsund, located south of the Åland Islands,  local media reported.

“The oil that found its way into the sea is either fuel oil or diesel oil. It floats on the surface and evaporates quickly, therefore not contaminating sites as badly as heavy oil does,” he added.

Related New Links:

• Large fuel oil spill found in Finnish archipelago
• Åland Islands Affected by Naantali Oil Spill

Another Day, Another Oil Spill in Alaska

How Many More Oil Spills Before Alaska is Toast?

A Christmas Day oil spill at ConocoPhillips’ Kuparuk oil field in Alaska caused by a ruptured pipeline  was deemed  one of the biggest-ever spills on the North Slope by  the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Ruptured hole in 6 inch flow line. The size of the hole is approximately 3.5 x .25 inches. Date: 12/27-28 . Photo Credit: ADEC

Kuparuk 2U Pad Crude Oil Spill — Jan 5-6, 2008. Photo Credit: ADEC – J. Ebel

About 100,000 gallons of oil-water mix escaped a corroded water-injection pipeline at North America’s second-biggest field,  Kuparuk, which can produce up to 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

A smaller spill also occurred at BP’s Milne Point field elsewhere on the North Slope three days ago.

Other incidents in the area include spill of oil, gas and other fluids in 2008 at the Kuparuk oil field, and a 200,000-gallon crude oil spill at BP’s  Prudhoe Bay oil field in 2006.

North America’s second largest oil field, Kuparuk is owned by a consortium of big oil including  ConocoPhillips (the field operator and majority owner),  BP the second largest shareholder has about 40 percent, while Chevron and Exxon Mobil own minor shares.

Related Links:

• Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
• PERP Response Photo Gallery [Link includes data and photos on Alaska oil spills]

Large spill at Canada’s oil sands terminal

Deaths and Oil Spills: Hallmarks of Enbridge Inc, Canada

Enbridge Inc, Canada’s 2nd largest pipeline company, confirmed 4,000 barrels of oil spewed out of its oil storage facility in northern Alberta on Saturday.

Flames and smoke rise above Enbridge’s oil pipeline fire that killed two workers near Enbridge Energy Partners terminal in Clearbrook, Minn., November 28, 2007.  In April 2007, the same pipeline ruptured in Saskatchewan. Enbridge has reported two other leaks in its Canadian lines since 2001. (Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald/Associated Press). Image may be subject to copyright.

The company sends oilsands crude to the U.S. through its pipelines.  A spokesperson for Calgary-based Enbridge blamed a valve failure for the spill which reportedly occurred  at its Cheecham terminal south of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Syncrude Oil Sand Mine, Alberta, Canada. The Mildred Lake facility. The yellow structures in front of the tailings pond are sulfur stockpiles; the extraction plant is just to the right of this photograph and most of the mine lies to the left. Source

In May 2008, at least 500 hundred migratory ducks died after landing on an oilsands tailings pond at Syncrude’s Aurora North Site mine, north of Fort McMurray.