News24com US probing nearly 350 reports of oil spills in wake of Hurricane Ida
A 'General Lee' car, damaged by Hurricane Ida, at the John Schneider Studios on September 2, 2021 in Holden, Louisiana
Sean Rayford/Getty Images
The US Coast Guard on Monday said it was probing nearly 350 reports of oil spills in and along the US Gulf of Mexico in the wake of Hurricane Ida.
Hurricane Ida's 240km/h winds wreaked havoc on offshore oil production platforms and onshore oil and gas processing plants. About 88% of the region's offshore oil production remains shut and more than 100 platforms unoccupied after the storm made landfall on 29 August.
The Coast Guard has been conducting flyovers off the coast of Louisiana looking for spills. It is providing information to federal, state and local authorities responsible for cleaning the sites.
READ | Hurricane Ida death toll in US Northeast rises to at least 50 victims
Flights on Sunday found evidence of a new leak from an offshore well and reported another leak responsible for a miles-long streak of oil was no longer active. A third report of oil near a drilling platform could not be confirmed, it said.
Offshore oil producer Talos Energy Inc, which hired divers and a cleanup crew to respond to an oil spill in Bay Marchand, said old pipelines damaged during the storm were apparently responsible.
The source of the Bay Marchand leak remains unknown, said Coast Guard spokesman Lieutenant John Edwards. A Coast Guard-led team "will be looking at all potential sources in order to ensure any future risk is mitigated," he said.
The spill off the coast of Port Fourchon, Louisiana, had decreased substantially since it was first discovered last week, Talos said. The company is not the owner of the pipelines and had ceased production operations in the area four years ago, said spokesman Brian Grove.
READ | Crews work to contain oil spill in Gulf after Ida's passage
An offshore well belonging to S2 Energy was discharging oil about 8 km away from the Bay Marchand site, the Coast Guard said. The company told the Coast Guard it has secured the wellhead and it was no longer discharging oil.
S2 did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
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