Planned, surprise spill drills reported on peninsula

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

The Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council said March 10 that its staff participated in a March 10 Tesoro Alaska oil spill drill which received “high marks” from both the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The drill combined a tabletop exercise at Cook Inlet Spill Prevention and Response Inc. with field operations in the vicinity of the Kenai Pipeline Co. crude oil tank farm in Nikiski.

The spill drill scenario was based on a bomb-caused 240,000 barrel crude spill into a secondary containment dike at the tank farm.

Initial response was from the Tesoro Fire Response Brigade and the Nikiski Fire Department. The incident command system coordinated the response, with unified command including the EPA, DEC and the Nikiski Fire Department.

Also tested in the drill were security measures in response to an explosion with Tesoro Alaska and the Alaska National Guard setting up a security ring around the Kenai Pipeline facility.

Cook Inlet RCAC said the drill received high marks from observers from DEC, EPA and the guard.

Cook Inlet RCAC also said Marathon Oil Co. employees conducted a March 7 surprise spill drill to test the ability of employees to respond to an oil spill at the Beaver Creek oil and gas field near Kenai. The spill scenario was a 50-100 barrel oil spill which occurred when a tank truck was hit by a front-end loader, putting a hole in the tank and spilling oil onto the ground.

Cook Inlet RCAC said Marathon worked closely with Cook Inlet Spill Prevention and Response to deploy the necessary personnel and equipment, including absorbent material, pumps and holding tanks. The drill also involved notification of organizations and agencies.