Wednesday, February 21, 2024

The secondary oil sheen off the Gulf of Mexico source has been identified according to the USCG and now one piece of the who-dun-it has been solved!

Happy Wednesday! 

By now you know we love a follow-up story.  We blogged about the original Gulf of Mexico oil spill in November then there was a secondary sheen found in December 2023, which we also blogged about.  The original who-dun-it is still under investigation, but the secondary sheen looks like they found the culprit!

Did anyone happen to read The Houston Chronicle’s The 713 Morning Newsletter on February 21, 2024, their article titled, “The pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico is receiving repairs amid an investigation”?  The article was about U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has found the secondary oil sheen’s source and it is being repaired.  Main Pass Oil Gathering line had another round of inspections when a faulty connector was spotted, this is where pipes fuse together, and they will repair the problematic area.   The USCG does not believe the faulty connector is what caused the original 1.1. million-gallon oil spill.  It’s been 3 months since a 1.1-million-gallon oil spill was located and reported off the coast of Louisiana near the mouth of the Mississippi River and the investigators including the USCG will continue their search.   Third Coast Infrastructure operates the pipeline and once the repairs are complete, they will conduct a pressure test on the pipeline to see if any other areas are compromised.  Allowing repairs when an investigation is underway is highly unusual for the USCG according to a local leak detection specialist, so the plot is thickening.  We expect more to come on this story and will update you once we learn of any new information.  If you would like to read more of The Houston Chronicle’s article, please click the link: Pipeline in Gulf of Mexico spill receiving repairs amid investigation(houstonchronicle.com).

If you would like help in looking into how to update your terminal and pipelines, contact us via email in the blog and check out our ESC's website for contact information!

We hope you have a wonderful evening and a great rest of your week!

**Disclaimer: You may be charged a fee to read The Houston Chronicle’s article. **