Leaked diesel found in platform leg

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Responders have completed the lightering and disposal of diesel fuel that had been discovered to have leaked into one of the legs of the Tyonek platform in Cook Inlet. The platform houses the wellheads and production facilities for the North Cook Inlet gas field.

Hilcorp Alaska has recently completed the purchase of the field and platform from ConocoPhillips and discovered the leaked fuel on Nov. 29. On Dec. 1 oil spill response organization Cook Inlet Spill Prevention and Response Inc. began pumping the fuel out of the leg into a tank for transfer to shore in batches for safe discharge. The U.S. Coast Guard oversaw the operation and reported no indications of any oil sheen on the water adjacent the platform.

“The source of the diesel has been identified and is fully contained within a leg of the platform and poses no threat to wildlife,” Hilcorp spokeswoman Lori Nelson told Petroleum News in a Dec. 2 email. “Fluids from the leg are being pumped into containers and will be properly disposed of. … This condition existed prior to Hilcorp taking over operation of the platform. As we work in cooperation with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the United States Coast Guard, the safety of our personnel and the environment remain our top priority.”

The Coast Guard has subsequently told Petroleum News that the removal of the diesel fuel from the platform leg was completed by Dec. 5. A total volume of 20,580 gallons of fuel was removed, and none of the fuel escaped into the waters surrounding the platform, Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Bill Colclough told Petroleum News.

Nelson also confirmed that no hydrocarbons had been released into the Cook Inlet,

“We will continue to work in cooperation with ADEC and the USCG as we do post-inspections and subsequent follow up,” Nelson said in a Dec. 7 email.

- ALAN BAILEY

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