Oil company Hilcorp has managed to stop an oil leak from a subsea pipeline in the Cook Inlet, Alaska.
To remind, a Unified Command was established over the weekend after some sheen was found near Hilcorp’s Anna Platform in the Granite Point Field of Cook Inlet.
A sheen was discovered by Hilcorp personnel at 11:20 a.m., Saturday. During the first flyover at approximately 11:30 a.m., several sheens were spotted approximately three miles downstream from the platform.
The suspected source of the release was an oil pipeline running between the Anna and Bruce platforms.
According to the latest update issued Monday, the Unified Command comprised of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC), and Hilcorp responding to the sheen stood down on Monday morning at 9 a.m., after a final overflight confirmed no sheening.
The U.S. Coast Guard said Hilcorp crews evacuated all crude oil from the suspected leaking pipeline by displacing it with filtered seawater. The pipeline is an oil gathering line connecting the Anna and Bruce platforms. Cook Inlet Spill Prevention and Response (CISPRI) remained on scene and USCG and ADEC observers were on board the Anna platform for the purging operation.
Overflights were conducted at 7 p.m. Sunday evening and at 7:50 a.m. Monday. No sheen was observed, USCG said.
“A diving crew is assembling in the region accompanied by appropriate support vessels. Use of divers to investigate and perform any necessary repairs will be initiated as soon as it is safe to do so. At this time, the exact cause of the release is unknown and remains under investigation,” the Coast Guard said.