BP, ADEC responding to incident at Prudhoe Bay well
The venting of gas from a well on Drill Site 2 of the Prudhoe Bay oil field is causing a spray of oil to impact the well pad and the surrounding tundra, according to a situation report issued by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Apparently BP, the field operator, discovered the problem at about 7:30 a.m. today. BP has depressurized the drill site in an effort to control the well but control of the source of the spill has yet to be established, ADEC said.
BP has set up a command post on the North Slope for the incident and is ramping up an incident management team. ADEC is mobilizing its response team to the command post. With responders not able to access the impacted area until the well has been brought under control, the environmental impact of the spill is unknown at this point, ADEC says.
- ALAN BAILEY
See story in the April 23 issue, available online Friday, April 21, at www.PetroleumNews.com
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