Produced water spill at Kuparuk CPF3

ConocoPhillips Alaska had a produced water spill at Central Production Facility 3 at the Kuparuk River field Nov. 15. In a situation report the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s Division of Spill Prevention and Response said the spill was discovered at 10:40 a.m. Nov. 15 and involved an unknown volume of produced water, a mixture of saline water and a small amount of crude oil.

The agency said a mechanical component at the coupler at the booster pump of the produced water tank failed and said the booster pump has been isolated.

Liquid product will be recovered by suction and recycled or disposed. Solid products including frozen ice and gravel will be sent to a grind and inject facility.

The agency said ConocoPhillips does not anticipate any significant impact to their production of crude oil.

The product stayed on the pad and the agency said cleanup of released product will be conducted through an approved plan with analytically verified cleanup levels.

- PETROLEUM NEWS