Photographs captured by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration aircraft on Aug. 31 and reviewed by The Associated Press show a thousand-mile black spot floating in the Gulf of Mexico near a large platform marked Enterprise Offshore Drilling. (NOAA via AP)
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday that cleanup crews are responding to a major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida.
The spill, which is ongoing, appears to come from an underwater source in a marine drilling lease about two miles south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana. The reported location is near the site of a thousand-kilometer brown-and-black oil slick visible in aerial photos first published Wednesday by The Associated Press.
So far, the growing oil slick appears to have remained offshore and has not affected the Louisiana coast.
Coast Guard spokesman Lt. John Edwards said the source of the pollution is in Bay Marchand, in Block 4, and is believed to be the crude of a Talos Energy-owned submarine pipeline.
Brian L. Grove, a spokesman for the Houston-based energy company, said he had hired Clean Gulf Associates to respond to the spill, though the company believes it is not responsible for oil in the water.
Clean Gulf Associates, a non-profit oil spill response cooperative working with the energy exploration and production industry, responded to the scene Wednesday. Its workers have placed a containment boom in the area to mitigate the spread of oil. The company’s ships are also running skimmers that can pull oil out of the water, though the Coast Guard said so far only about 42 gallons had been removed.
Talos is investigating the cause of the leak, but a statement provided by Grove said field observations indicate that the company’s assets are not the source. Talos previously rented Bay Marchand, block 5, but left production there in 2017, plugged the wells and removed all pipeline infrastructure in 2019.
Talos said two 95-foot response vessels had been sent to the scene to conduct oil recovery operations. A lift boat equipped for diving operations has also been mobilized and is expected to arrive on Saturday to help determine the source of the spill.
“The stalks will continue to work closely with the U.S. Coast Guard and other state and federal agencies to identify the source of the release and coordinate a successful response,” the company statement said. “The company’s top priorities are the safety of all staff and the protection of the public and the environment.”