BLM completes Cape Simpson cleanup work

The federal Bureau of Land Management said Sept. 1 that it has completed cleanup of Cape Simpson legacy well sites in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

BLM said it facilitated removal of surface debris through an inter-agency agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The corps contracted with Alaska-owned Mahto Construction Inc.

BLM said the contractor collected 135 cubic yards of bentonite clay, concrete, oily debris, wood and scrap metal from the sites of Simpson Core Test 26, 30 and 30A. The waste was removed by air with a sling and a helicopter used to move it to an adjacent tug and barge for off-site transportation and disposal. BLM said some of the debris was in a natural oil seep, requiring crews to use winches, non-sparking axes, power tools, chest waters and even a canoe to gather debris.

“The fact that these test wells were drilled in natural oil seeps presented special challenges to this cleanup effort,” BLM Alaska State Director Bud Cribley said in a statement. “The BLM continues work to address legacy wells across the NPR-A in order to protect the public and Alaska’s environment,” he said.

Legacy wells are the result of exploratory and scientific drilling the federal government conducted between 1944 and 1982; BLM said it has been assessing, plugging and remediating legacy wells since 1982.

Since 2002 BLM has plugged 21 wells and cleaned up the surface at priority legacy well sites at a cost of $99 million. The Helium Stewardship Act, passed in 2013, includes a provision to fund BLM’s legacy well cleanup efforts with $50 million through fiscal year 2019.

The agency outlined its priorities in a 2013 Legacy Wells Strategic Plan.

- Petroleum News