HNC deepening called into question
January 23, 2007Check It Out!
January 25, 2007THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A section of the Intracoastal Waterway south of Lake Salvador remained closed to shipping Monday after an oil leak in Bayou Perot, the Coast Guard said.
The leak was discovered about 1 a.m. Sunday. It is the result of a damaged sweet medium crude oil wellhead near mile marker 20 of the Intracoastal Waterway, Petty Officer Nyx Cangemi said Monday.
The well is owned by ExPert Oil & Gas LLC of Covington.
The Coast Guard established a safety zone and closed the Intracoastal Waterway from the Barataria Waterway in Jefferson Parish to Bayou Lafourche.
The Coast Guard estimated more than 1,000 barrels of oil escaped into the water by Sunday evening. Winds and currents carried oil into the Intracoastal Waterway and Lake Salvador. The incident is classified as a medium spill.
More than 3,200 feet of oil containment boom has been deployed to prevent the oil from spreading further, Cangemi said.
Wild Well, a well control company, has been contracted to stop the leak. And ES&H, a pollution contractor, is in charge of the cleanup.
What caused the leak remains under investigation, Cangemi said.
