The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has confirmed that clean-up activities are still ongoing in response to a crude oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico near the Main Pass Oil Gathering (MPOG) company’s pipeline system close to Plaquemines Parish, southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. This incident is estimated to have released more than a million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
According to the Coast Guard, an overflight by an MPOG aircrew confirmed the presence of crude oil, thus, the company embarked on implementing its federal and state-approved emergency oil spill response plan. The Coast Guard, MPOG, and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s office have formed a Unified Command team to investigate the source of the spill, which is still unknown. The 67-mile-long pipeline was closed on November 16, 2023, after crude oil was spotted around 19 miles offshore of the Mississippi River Delta.
“MPOG has organized response resources through Forefront Emergency Management and local Oil Spill Removal Organizations including Environmental Safety & Health Consulting Services, Inc. and Clean Gulf Associates. The Unified Command is coordinating with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Forefront Emergency Management and other federal, state and local agencies to ensure the safety of the public and respond to the incident,” explained the Coast Guard.
While there have been no reports of injuries or shoreline impacts, the Unified Command continues to monitor and respond to the oil discharge near MPOG’s pipeline system, known as the MPOG 11015 incident, 25 miles offshore Plaquemines Parish. To this end, the Unified Command conducted multiple overflights.
“Overflight teams observed visible oil Friday moving southwest away from the Louisiana shore. Three skimming vessels are working to recover oil on the surface. On Saturday and Sunday, overflights observed intermittent surface sheens. Additional surface observations are ongoing with two Coast Guard cutters on scene and additional overflights,” underlined the Coast Guard.
Furthermore, the remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), deployed on November 17, 2023, continue to survey the pipeline. However, the Coast Guard claims that so far there are no findings of a source area. The vehicles will continue to survey the pipeline if weather conditions permit, as part of the Unified Command’s efforts to determine the source of the release.
While the exact amount of spilled oil is still unknown, the initial engineering calculations indicate the potential volume of crude oil that could have been released from the affected pipeline is 1.1 million gallons, thus, the Coast Guard continues to oversee the coordinated effort to mitigate the impact of the oil discharge.
Plaquemines Parish said it continued monitoring the incident with local, state, and federal partners and reassured the public that there were “still no impacts to Plaquemines Parish.”