[THS] Satellite images suggest that other rigs might be leaking oil into the Gulf.

Fri Jun 11 10:35:03 CEST 2010

Two More Gulf Spills?
Satellite images suggest that other rigs might be leaking oil into the Gulf.
By Kate Sheppard | Tue Jun. 8, 2010 7:00 AM PDT

http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/06/two-more-gulf-spills

The BP oil spill is still dominating headlines, 50 days after the Deepwater Horizon rig
exploded.
But how much oil leaks into the Gulf on any other day of the year? Satellite images
and photographs from the region indicate that there may be two other offshore
drilling units leaking oil into the ocean.
John Amos, head of the West Virginia-based nonprofit SkyTruth [1], was looking at
satellite images of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon site when he noticed what
appeared to be another small slick of oil about 11 miles off the coast of Louisiana and
about 40 miles from the major spill. Amos' group uses the images to assess
environmental problems; he was among the first independent experts to point out
that the spill estimates from BP and the government were far too low [2], which has
now been confirmed [3]. Amos reported a "small but persistent leak or oily
discharge" at a second site in the Gulf, one that appeared to be coming from
platform 23051 in the Gulf of Mexico. It can be seen on multiple satellite images [4]
of the region. Minerals Management Service (MMS) records indicate [5] that the
platform belongs to Taylor Energy Company.
Amos contacted J. Henry Fair, a New York-based photographer who specializes in
artistic renderings [6] of the human impact on the environment. Fair was in the Gulf
last weekend taking aerial photos of the spill with the group Southwings [7], and at
Amos' suggestion sought out platform 23051. Fair found a rig with an oily sheen
extending out into the water and snapped a series of photos [8]. But upon closer
inspection, it was a different rig-the Ocean Saratoga rig [9] owned by Diamond
Offshore. In some of Fair's photos, a platform is visible in the background, possibly
the one he was originally searching for, 23051. Amos couldn't give an estimate on
how much oil might be coming out of either site, though he noted that it is a "very
small" amount.
That would mean there are potentially two other operations in the Gulf leaking oil. So
just how common are such leaks? The sad reality is, we really don't know.
Right now, oil companies are required by law to report [10] any spills to the National
Response Center, Coast Guard or Environmental Protection Agency if there is a
"visible sheen [11]." Oil companies report spilling roughly 1.3 million gallons of oil into
US waterways in an average year. But that figure is largely reliant on self-reporting;
the government trusts that operators are following the law and reporting all of the
spills, Amos says. Coast Guard 1st Class Petty Officer Zach Zubricki told Mother Jones
that they do not know of any other spills in the Gulf at this point in time. "I'm only
aware of one leak," said Zubricki. He noted that it's possible the sheen is related to
the major spill from the Deepwater Horizon, since "you get oil everywhere" with a
leak of that size. (I've also put in calls to the companies that own these two units and
will update as I hear back from them.)
Amos believes that these other visible sheens are independent of the Deepwater
Horizon disaster. SkyTruth is using images from NASA and the Center for
Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing (CSTARS) [12] at the University of
Miami, which draws the images from several international satellite data providers.
"We're not routinely using satellites to monitor regions where offshore drilling is
occurring," says Amos. "If we were, what would we learn? Would we learn that small
spills like this are uncommon, or would we learn that there's a day to day,
background nature to spills?"

"I don't want to speculate on frequency or regularity," says Amos. "Maybe this is a
rare occurrence and this was incredibly fortuitous that we happened to stumble
across it. I don't know. I do know we have the tools to answer these questions, but
we're not using them."
UPDATE: This NOAA document [13] from April 30 on the Deepwater Horizon spill
notes that the map also shows "oil from an additional (unrelated)
source near platform Ocean Saratoga." The Press-Register was able to confirm [14]
with the National Response Center that a spill had been reported, though the center
did not give a date when it began.
UPDATE 2: Taylor Energy, owner of the Ocean Saratoga, put out a statement
Tuesday afternoon confirming that the rig has been performing an "ongoing well
intervention program" to repair damage to the well that occurred in 2004 when
Hurricane Ike destroyed a production platform there. The company states that the
"associated surface sheen was minimal and never made landfall," and that the "initial
average observed sheen volume of nine gallons per day has been substantially
reduced." The company didn't say what it has been reduced to at this point, or if the
well has been leaking non-stop since '04. I've sent in follow-up questions and will
update as more information is available.

JHFair2.preview.jpg©2010 J Henry Fair

Source URL: http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/06/two-more-gulf-spills
Links:
[1] http://www.skytruth.org
[2] http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/05/how-bad-bp-spill
[3] http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/06/gulf-spill-estimate-still-way-too-low
[4]
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_edvxM1dkFlo/TAel0DkD4BI/AAAAAAAAAfg/EwqjRVPVkZ4/s
1600/SkyTruth_platform23051_25apr10-18may10.jpg
[5] https://www.mms.gov/homepg/regulate/.../2005MasterComplexTable.xls
[6] http://www.industrialscars.com
[7] http://www.southwings.org
[8] http://industrialscars.com/diamond
[9] http://www.diamondoffshore.com/ourFleet/rigs_saratoga.php
[10] http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/lawsregs/sheenovr.htm
[11] http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/reporting/index.htm
[12] https://www.cstars.miami.edu/
[13]
http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/book_shelf/1894_TMF24-2010-04-30-2100.pdf
[14] http://blog.al.com/live/2010/06/another_gulf_oil_spill_well_ne.html