Alberta Government Charges Plains Midstream Over Oil Spill

TORONTO - The Alberta government has filed charges against Plains Midstream Canada ULC, a unit of U.S. energy pipeline operator Plains All American Pipeline L.P., for an oil spill in 2011 in northern Alberta, according to a notice on the western Canadian province's web site.

The oil spill, which happened in a fairly isolated stretch of boreal forest in northern Alberta, leaked about 28,000 barrels from Plains Midstream's Rainbow pipeline system, making it one of the province's largest in 36 years. The pipeline runs from northern Alberta to Edmonton, the provincial capital.

Plains Midstream faces three charges under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, according to the provincial notice. They include one charge for the release of a substance that causes or could cause an "adverse effect" on the environment; another charge alleging failure "to take all reasonable measures to repair, remedy and confine the effects of the substance" as soon as the company "knew or ought to have become aware of the release;" and a third charge for "failing to take all reasonable measures to remediate, manage, remove or otherwise dispose of the substance...in such a manner as to prevent an adverse effect or further adverse effect," according to the government notice.

A representative for Plains Midstream couldn't be reached. But the company on its web site said that its efforts to clean up the spill are working.

"In the 22 months since the release, ongoing inspections have confirmed that remediation activities are complete (and) third-party remediation and reclamation experts inspect the site and assess the monitoring results to confirm the absence of contamination," the company said on the web site.

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Record Dolphin, Sea Turtle Deaths Since Gulf Spill

Apr 2, 2013 02:27 PM ET // by Jennifer Viegas . Discovery News

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened in the Gulf of Mexico nearly three years ago, but the estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil that it released are still killing dolphins, sea turtles and other marine life in record numbers, according to new research.

The report, “Restoring a Degraded Gulf of Mexico: Wildlife and Wetlands Three Years into the Gulf Oil Disaster,” found that dolphins were among the hardest hit animals. As of just earlier this year, infant dolphins were dying six times faster than they did before the spill. Scientists aren’t even yet sure of the extent of the massive spill, given that it was impossible to fully clean up the chemical-laden, carcinogenic oil.

Photos: Devastating Oil Spill Disasters

“Three years after the initial explosion, the impacts of the disaster continue to unfold,” Doug Inkley, senior scientist for the National Wildlife Federation and lead author of the report, said in a press release. “Dolphins are still dying in high numbers in the areas affected by oil. These ongoing deaths — particularly in an apex predator like the dolphin — are a strong indication that there is something amiss with the Gulf ecosystem.”

An infographic summarizes some of the findings.

The NWF also highlighted these findings:

* Dolphin deaths in the area affected by oil have remained above average every month since just before the spill began. (The infant dolphin data was gathered in January and February of 2013.)

* NOAA called the dolphin die-off “unprecedented” — a year ago. While NOAA is keeping many elements of its dolphin research confidential pending the conclusion of the ongoing trial, the agency has ruled out the most common causes of previous dolphin die-offs.

* More than 1,700 sea turtles were found stranded between May 2010 and November 2012 — the last date for which information is available. For comparison, on average about 240 sea turtles are stranded annually.

* A coral colony seven miles from the wellhead was badly damaged by oil. A recent laboratory study found that the mixture of oil and dispersant affected the ability of some coral species to build new parts of a reef.  Read the full article

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US Court Rules Against BP on Oil Spill Settlement Payments Dispute

A federal judge denied BP PLC's plea to halt payments from a settlement fund set up to reimburse businesses and individuals for losses from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident.

During a hearing in New Orleans Friday morning, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier rejected BP's arguments that the fund administrator, Patrick Juneau, was misinterpreting how claims should be assessed and payments calculated, according to lawyers who attended the hearing. BP claims the fund has made millions of dollars in payments for "fictitious" claims.

Lawyers representing the claimants argued the claims formulas were approved by BP. "The court's ruling speaks for itself," said Steve Herman, one of the lead lawyers representing thousands of businesses and individuals.

BP said in a statement that it has already appealed an earlier decision on the fund's payments to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

BP said it still believes that Mr. Juneau's interpretation of payment formulas is wrong, resulting in "unjustified windfall payments to numerous business claimants for non-existent, artificially calculated losses."

The ruling wasn't a surprise given Judge Barbier's previous rejection of BP's arguments, said Tom Claps, an analyst and legal expert with Susquehanna Capital, who has closely followed the case. It will be very difficult for the oil giant to score a victory at the appeals court because the settlement was "extensively negotiated, drafted and approved by BP and its legal team," Mr. Claps said.

The hearing took place during a break in the ongoing civil trial aimed at determining the degree of culpability that BP and other companies have for the accident. Judge Barbier has heard six weeks of testimony from employees of BP, drilling rig owner Transocean Ltd., cement contractor Halliburton Co. and expert witnesses.

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ExxonMobil: A Few Thousand Barrels of Oil Seen in Arkansas Spill Area

Exxon Mobil Corp. said Saturday that it is working to clean up thousands of barrels of oil that spilled from its pipeline into a Mayflower, Ark., residential neighborhood Friday afternoon.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is categorizing the incident as a "major spill," the company said, which means that more than 250 barrels of oil have been released. Exxon said "a few thousand barrels of oil" have been observed in the area, but the company is staging a response worthy of a spill of more than 10,000 barrels "to be conservative."

Mayflower is in Faulkner County, about 25 miles outside of Little Rock, Ark. The city evacuated 22 homes Friday as oil flowed into yards and through the streets. Exxon said Saturday it had about 100 workers in the area and had deployed 2,000 feet of containment boom and had 15 vacuum trucks were at work cleaning up the oil Saturday afternoon. The company said it has recovered 4,500 barrels of oil and water.

On Saturday, Faulkner County Judge Allen Dodson said the U.S. EPA has estimated that as much as 2,000 barrels have been released into the neighborhood, but so far, responders have been able to stop that oil from flowing into Lake Conway, a nearby 6,700-acre freshwater lake. Mr. Dodson said it looks like the cleanup effort might take several weeks. On Saturday crews were working to keep the oil contained even as rain pelted the earthen dams put in place to hold the oil back, he said.

"We're dealing with added water flow from the rain," Mr. Dodson said.

If the early estimates prove to be correct, the spill could be larger than a 2011 pipeline leak into the Yellowstone River in Montana. On Monday U.S. pipeline regulators proposed a $1.7 million fine against Exxon for allegedly not doing enough to prevent that leak of about 1,500 barrels of crude into the river after the pipeline ruptured during severe flooding. The regulators also proposed that Exxon employees be required to put in place a training program to teach employees how to react to emergencies at the company's pipelines. Exxon said it was disappointed in the regulators' findings, and that it has applied lessons learned from the Montana spill to its remote control valve procedures and operator training.

In a filing with the National Response Center Friday, Exxon reported that the amount of oil released was unknown, but told regulators that the "incident may be a significant material release."

Exxon said Friday evening that the pipeline, which carries oil from a hub in Patoka, Ill. to the Texas Gulf Coast, was shut in. The pipeline delivers oil to the Sunoco Logistics terminal in Nederland, Texas, where it is then shipped to various Houston area refiners, according to the Exxon Pipeline Co.'s website.

Ben Lefebvre contributed to this article.

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Gov. Hickenlooper fails to fine company responsible for toxic Parachute spill

Yesterday, Gov. Hickenlooper’s department of public health and environment (CDPHE) announced that they won’t levy fines against Williams Cos. for spilling 10,000 barrels of natural gas and toxic waste into Parachute Creek and the surrounding area in western Colorado.

Earlier this month, the Governor lobbied to water-down legislation to toughen fines for oil and gas companies who pollute, despite Colorado’s well-documented problems of spills, and lowest in the nation fines. The Governor’s actions ultimately led to the death of the legislation.

The Parachute spill, which occurred in the winter but wasn’t reported until the spring, has polluted water with cancer-causing benzene. In early May, benzene levels in the creek exceeded the federal safe drinking water standard.

In their statement, CDPHE said that they aren’t fining Williams because the spill “was not due to negligence but to accidental equipment failure.” So now Gov. Hickenlooper’s department of public health and environment only “protect[s] and improve[s] the health of Colorado’s people and the quality of its environment” part of the time? We didn’t find that caveat in their mission statement.

This isn’t the first time that the Hickenlooper Administration has failed to hold polluters accountable. A 2011 Suncor spill that polluted the South Platte River is still being cleaned up nearly two years later – and yet Suncor hasn’t been fined for dumping toxic levels of benzene into the river.

Unfortunately, it appears that the Hickenlooper Administration is fine with oil and gas companies polluting our water and communities with waste and toxins – otherwise, why not hold them accountable for polluting by enforcing fines?

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BP Expects Some US Gulf Oil Spill Claims To Be Higher Than Anticipated

LONDON - BP PLC now expects to pay more than previously anticipated in compensation for private economic and property damage stemming from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the company's annual report.

This is because average payments for business economic loss claims so far have been higher than anticipated, the company said. BP said this means it can no longer give a reliable estimate for the total cost of the settlement it agreed last year with the plaintiffs' steering committee--a group representing individuals with economic, property or medical damage claims--other than to say it will be significantly higher than $7.7 billion.

In a speech earlier this week BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley said the company has spent over $24 billion in response, including clean-up and restoration costs and in payments on claims made by individuals, businesses and governments for the 2010 disaster. This latest escalation in the cost of the disaster, which killed 11 men and triggered the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, comes as the company is embroiled in a civil trial to determine environmental fines that could total as much as $17.6 billion.

BP has spent or provisioned more than $40 billion for the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Mr. Dudley added.

BP said the final cost of the PSC settlement is likely to be higher than $7.7 billion, which is the company's current estimate of total payments under the deal, excluding future claims for business economic loss whose size cannot now be determined.

In February BP revised up the cost of the PSC settlement to $8.5 billion--already an increase from the original estimated cost of $7.8 billion last year--but it has now withdrawn that guidance. The company said it would issue fresh guidance for the higher costs when it is able to calculate a reliable new estimate.

BP said it can't give an estimate for the final total of compensation payments to individuals and businesses. "Management has concluded that no reliable estimate can be made of any business economic loss claims not yet received or processed," BP said.

BP said costs were higher because the administrator of the compensation fund was using a more generous interpretation of the payout agreement, resulting in higher number and value of awards than BP had assumed in their initial estimate.

This week a U.S. federal court affirmed the administrator's interpretation of the economic and property damages settlement agreement. BP said it disagrees with the ruling and will challenge it.

However, the U.K.-listed oil giant said that even if it is successful in appealing the court's ruling, the total cost of the settlement agreement will still exceed $7.7 billion. "If BP is not successful in its challenge to the court's ruling, a further signi?cant increase to the total estimated cost of the settlement will be required," BP said.

The company is now in the second week of a civil trial in New Orleans to apportion blame for the 2010 accident. A second trial, scheduled for the fall, will determine how much oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. The two trials will determine the size of the fines BP could face under the U.S. Clean Water Act, which could total as much as $17.6 billion

BP has said these fines should be a maximum of $3.4 billion.

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Transocean: BP Gave Low Flow Estimates of Gulf Spill

NEW ORLEANS - The owner of the oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 says BP hampered efforts to stop the resulting gusher of oil by misleading government officials about how many barrels of oil were flowing each day from the damaged well on the Gulf floor.

The Transocean Corp.'s assertions were filed Friday in federal court in New Orleans, where a civil began last week to determine percentages of blame and how much BP, Transocean and others will pay for the April 2010 catastrophe that killed 11 workers and sent millions of gallons of oil spewing into the Gulf for 87 days.

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Court Testimony: BP Managers Under Cost-Cutting Pressure before Spill

NEW ORLEANS - BP PLC's managers were under pressure to cut costs significantly in the years leading up to the Deepwater Horizon accident, according to testimony at the federal trial here over liability for the 2010 explosion and oil spill.

Kevin Lacy, BP's former head of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, said in a videotaped deposition that he was told to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in costs in 2008 and 2009.

"I was never given a directive to cut corners or deliver something unsafe," Mr. Lacy said. "But there was tremendous pressure on costs."

The testimony came on the third day of the civil trial that will determine the degree of culpability that BP and other companies have for the accident, which killed 11 workers. They are being sued by the federal government, state, and local businesses that say they were hurt financially by the oil spill, which lasted for three months.

Mr. Lacy's testimony was preceded by excerpts from interviews lawyers for plaintiffs suing BP did with its former chief executive, Tony Hayward, who was asked repeatedly about speeches he had given on cost-cutting at the company. In many cases Mr. Hayward tried to point out a broader context for the statements and speeches.

On Monday, lawyers for the parties traded barbs over who was to blame for the explosion that unleashed the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Tuesday was dominated by testimony from Robert Bea, a University of California Berkeley engineering professor who called the accident "a classic failure of management and leadership in BP" that came after many warnings to the company.

Lamar McKay, the head of BP's exploration and production business, repeatedly rebuffed attempts by a lawyer for the plaintiffs to place the entire blame for the accident on BP. Mr. McKay stressed that decision making and safety were shared responsibilities among all the companies working on the doomed rig.

The trial is scheduled to take up to three months, but could be cut short or temporarily stopped if the parties reach a settlement.

A second trial, scheduled for the fall, will determine how much oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico.

Together, they will determine the size of fines firms face under the Clean Water Act, which could total as much as $17.6 billion.

BP, which hired Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton Co. to work on drilling its well, has said the fines would likely be under $5 billion.

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Court Testimony: BP Managers Under Cost-Cutting Pressure before Spill

NEW ORLEANS - BP PLC's managers were under pressure to cut costs significantly in the years leading up to the Deepwater Horizon accident, according to testimony at the federal trial here over liability for the 2010 explosion and oil spill.

Kevin Lacy, BP's former head of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, said in a videotaped deposition that he was told to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in costs in 2008 and 2009.

"I was never given a directive to cut corners or deliver something unsafe," Mr. Lacy said. "But there was tremendous pressure on costs."

The testimony came on the third day of the civil trial that will determine the degree of culpability that BP and other companies have for the accident, which killed 11 workers. They are being sued by the federal government, state, and local businesses that say they were hurt financially by the oil spill, which lasted for three months.

Mr. Lacy's testimony was preceded by excerpts from interviews lawyers for plaintiffs suing BP did with its former chief executive, Tony Hayward, who was asked repeatedly about speeches he had given on cost-cutting at the company. In many cases Mr. Hayward tried to point out a broader context for the statements and speeches.

On Monday, lawyers for the parties traded barbs over who was to blame for the explosion that unleashed the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Tuesday was dominated by testimony from Robert Bea, a University of California Berkeley engineering professor who called the accident "a classic failure of management and leadership in BP" that came after many warnings to the company.

Lamar McKay, the head of BP's exploration and production business, repeatedly rebuffed attempts by a lawyer for the plaintiffs to place the entire blame for the accident on BP. Mr. McKay stressed that decision making and safety were shared responsibilities among all the companies working on the doomed rig.

The trial is scheduled to take up to three months, but could be cut short or temporarily stopped if the parties reach a settlement.

A second trial, scheduled for the fall, will determine how much oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico.

Together, they will determine the size of fines firms face under the Clean Water Act, which could total as much as $17.6 billion.

BP, which hired Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton Co. to work on drilling its well, has said the fines would likely be under $5 billion.

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Dismissal of Frade Oil Spill Charges 'Welcomed News'

Drilling contractor Transocean Ltd. welcomed news that a Brazilian court has dismissed charges against the company and employees over the 2011 Frade oil spill offshore Brazil.

Transocean's crew members did exactly what they were trained to do, "acting responsibly, appropriately and quickly while always maintaining safety as their top priority," Transocean spokesperson Guy Cantwell told Rigzone.

Charges were also dismissed against Chevron Corp., according to a Reuters news report.

Chevron was drilling an appraisal well at the Frade field in November 2011 when oil began seeping through seep lines on the ocean floor. Chevron cemented and plugged the well, estimating that between 400 and 650 barrels of oil were spilled. A lawsuit was filed against the two companies by a federal district attorney in Brazil seeking $10.7 billion (BRL 20 billion) in damages and an injunction to halt Chevron's operations in Brazil.

Operations at the field have been suspended since March 2012, when Chevron requested a temporary suspension of production operations after identifying a small new seep at the field. In July of last year, Brazil oil regulatory agency said it had no objections to the company restarting production, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

However, a Brazilian court in August gave both companies 30 days to cease operations in Brazil, according to a Dow Jones newswire report.

The head of Brazil's superior court of justice overturned a lower court ruling that allowed Transocean to continue operations in Brazil, except at the Frade field, Dow Jones Newswires reported in October 2012.

Brazil's National Petroleum Agency (ANP) had appealed the ban on Chevron and Transocean operating in Brazil, saying that forcing the companies to cease operations could cause serious safety problems and great economic harm, according to Dow Jones Newswires reports.

Brazilian state energy company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) also sought to help overturn the ban on Transocean because it would hurt the company's operations.

In September, ANP fined Chevron $17.3 million (35.1 million Brazilian reais) for its role in the offshore oil spill.

Chevron's plan of development for Frade called subsea production wells tied back to a floating production, storage and offloading vessel. Field development cost of the Frade field is estimated at $2.8 billion.

Located offshore Brazil in the northern Campos Basin in 3,722 feet of water, Frade contains heavy oil and natural gas, with recoverable reserves estimated at 200 to 300 million barrels of oil.

Chevron is operator of the field with 51.7 percent interest. Partners include Brazilian state energy company Petrobras with 30 percent and Frade Japao Limitada, a Japanese partnership led by Inpex Corp. with 18.26 percent.

Karen Boman has more than 10 years of experience covering the upstream oil and gas sector. Email Karen at kboman@rigzone.com.

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US Judge OKs Transocean's $1B Civil Spill Settlement

A New Orleans judge has approved Transocean Ltd.'s settlement agreement with the Justice Department to pay $1 billion in civil penalties for its part in the 2010 Macondo oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier stated in his ruling Tuesday that there is "no just reason for delay" in approving the civil settlement, The Associated Press reported.

"We are not commenting on this piece - we will let the settlement speak for itself," said Lou Colasuonno, spokesperson for Transocean, in an exclusive Rigzone phone interview.

Another U.S. federal judge approved Transocean's $400 million criminal settlement Feb. 14, in which the company pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge, resulting in one of the largest criminal Clean Water Act fines and penalties in U.S. history.
In total, Transocean will pay $1.4 billion in criminal and civil penalties.

Transocean, which employed nine of the 11 workers killed in the accident, owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and sank over BP's Macondo well in April 2010.

With more than 10 years of journalism experience, Robin Dupre specializes in the offshore sector of the oil and gas industry. Email Robin at rdupre@rigzone.com.

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US Judge OKs Transocean's $1B Civil Spill Settlement

A New Orleans judge has approved Transocean Ltd.'s settlement agreement with the Justice Department to pay $1 billion in civil penalties for its part in the 2010 Macondo oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier stated in his ruling Tuesday that there is "no just reason for delay" in approving the civil settlement, The Associated Press reported.

"We are not commenting on this piece - we will let the settlement speak for itself," said Lou Colasuonno, spokesperson for Transocean, in an exclusive Rigzone phone interview.

Another U.S. federal judge approved Transocean's $400 million criminal settlement Feb. 14, in which the company pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge, resulting in one of the largest criminal Clean Water Act fines and penalties in U.S. history.
In total, Transocean will pay $1.4 billion in criminal and civil penalties.

Transocean, which employed nine of the 11 workers killed in the accident, owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and sank over BP's Macondo well in April 2010.

With more than 10 years of journalism experience, Robin Dupre specializes in the offshore sector of the oil and gas industry. Email Robin at rdupre@rigzone.com.

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Clean Up Underway of Oil Spill on Mississippi

The U.S. Coast Guard unified command continues to respond to a crude oil spill in the lower Mississippi River near mile marker 436 in Vicksburg, Miss., Tuesday.

A lightering and salvage plan has been approved and multiple response crews have been dispatched to begin removing oil from the damaged barge.

Response crews have deployed 2,800-feet of boom to contain the source of the oil leak. Skimming vessels have recovered approximately 2,300 gallons of oil-water mixture since the incident occurred. The tank levels are being continually monitored. The leaking tank contained approximately 80,000 gallons of light crude oil. An estimated 7,000 gallons of oil is unaccounted for with an unknown quantity potentially contained in the void spaces of the damaged barge.

The Mississippi River remains closed to all traffic for a 16-mile distance between mile marker 425 and mile marker 441 near Vicksburg. Currently there are 21 northbound and 34 southbound vessels affected due to the river closure.

Mississippi River vessel traffic queue management is ongoing. Vessels will be allowed to transit the area as soon as it is environmentally and operationally safe to do so.

Personnel from Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River, Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Vicksburg and the Coast Guard Gulf Strike Team from Mobile, Ala., are on scene as part of a unified command effort to oversee cleanup and salvage operations. The unified command consists of representatives from the Coast Guard, State on-scene coordinators from Mississippi and Louisiana and the owner of the towing vessel, Nature's Way Marine LLC.

The Coast Guard investigation into the incident is ongoing.

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Shell Gets Apparent Win in Nigeria Oil Spill Cases

LONDON - A court in the Netherlands Wednesday dismissed four claims for compensation against Royal Dutch Shell PLC's Nigerian subsidiary, but awarded damages in a fifth, in cases brought by farmers and fishermen claiming that oil spills from pipelines in Nigeria damaged their livelihoods.

The size of damages awarded has yet to be decided, but the ruling is an apparent victory for the oil giant. The court concluded that the oil spills weren't caused by poor maintenance by Shell's Nigerian subsidiary, but by sabotage from third parties.

Significantly, the court also dismissed all claims against the parent company, based in the Netherlands, saying that Nigerian law meant only Shell's local subsidiary was liable. This means the case doesn't set a legal precedent over how Dutch companies are held responsible for the actions of their foreign subsidiaries.

Oil companies will be relieved by the verdict, principally that a precedent of a general responsibility of the parent company to the subsidiary hasn't been established in relation to Nigeria, said Simon Tysoe, a partner at law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, who specializes in the energy and natural resources sector.

The ruling could also dissuade other people from bringing claims such as this in a European court, he added.

The lawsuit was brought by environmental group Friends of the Earth Netherlands and four Nigerian farmers and fishermen, who were seeking compensation over claims that oil spills from Shell pipelines in Nigeria damaged their livelihood. They also said they wanted the Anglo-Dutch oil company, based in The Hague, to complete the cleanup of the spills.

The court, which posted the verdict on its website, said that in the single case where Shell's Nigerian subsidiary was ordered to pay compensation, the company "could and should have prevented" the sabotage of its pipeline that caused the spill by installing a concrete plug on an abandoned oil well before 2006.

The sabotage was committed in 2006 and 2007 by opening the underground valves with a monkey wrench, the court said. Shell installed a concrete plug on the well in 2010.

Mutiu Sunmonu, the managing director of Shell Petroleum Development Company, Shell's subsidiary in Nigeria, welcomed the court's ruling that all spill cases were caused by criminal activity.

"Oil pollution is a problem in Nigeria, affecting the daily lives of people in the Niger Delta. However, the vast majority of oil pollution is caused by oil thieves and illegal refiners," Mr. Sunmonu said. "This causes major environmental and economic damage, and is the real tragedy of the Niger Delta."

Friends of the Earth Netherlands oil and mining campaigner Evert Hassink said the group would appeal the court's verdict in the four cases that were dismissed and would also appeal the ruling that the parent company wasn't responsible.

Mr. Hassink said that Shell had a duty of care to prevent sabotage of its pipelines. "An oil giant cannot leave 7,000 kilometers of pipeline and hundreds of installations unprotected and unguarded in a politically unstable and economically underdeveloped region," Friends of the Earth Netherlands said.

The oil spills at Oruma, Goi and Ikot Ada Udo in the Niger Delta took place between 2004 and 2007. The total amount of oil spilled in the three locations was about 1,100 barrels.

Shell had said previously that a joint investigation found that sabotage was the cause of the spills in each of the three spill locations. In the first case a hole had been bored into the pipeline, in the second it had been cut with a hacksaw and in the third a valve had been manually opened, the investigation found. The joint investigation team included members of the local community, local authorities and Shell.

Pipelines are commonly tapped in Nigeria to steal the oil inside. Many parts of the Niger Delta have a thriving trade in oil stolen this way, known locally as "bunkering." A report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in 2009 estimated as much as 150,000 barrels of oil a day was being stolen in that manner.

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API Launches Oil Spill Research Website

American Petroleum Institute (API) Director of Marine and Security Issues Robin Rorick announced Tuesday the launch of www.ioscproceedings.com, a new website that hosts research papers presented every three years at the International Oil Spill Conference (IOSC). The site will enable greater sharing of best practices and latest technologies among industry, government and other stakeholders, as well as promote safe operations around the world.

"Safety is the oil and gas industry’s number one priority," said Rorick."The IOSC Proceedings represent more than 40 years of research into oil spill prevention, response and restoration. Putting this treasure trove of information online makes the latest information, data and research available in the widest possible manner."

First held in 1969, the IOSC provides an open public forum for professionals from the international community, the private sector, government, and non-governmental organizations to highlight and discuss innovations and best practices across the spectrum of prevention, preparedness, response and restoration. Peer-reviewed papers presented at each conference are then published in the IOSC Proceedings. Online for the first time ever, this new database provides free access to more than 3,000 articles containing information and perspectives available nowhere else.

Permanent sponsors of the triennial IOSC include API, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

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Nigeria Exxon spill spreads for miles along coast

By Tife Owolabi. Reuters

IBENO, Nigeria | Sun Nov 18, 2012 2:51am EST

(Reuters) – An oil spill at an ExxonMobil facility offshore from the Niger Delta has spread at least 20 miles from its source, coating waters used by fishermen in a film of sludge.

A Reuters reporter visiting several parts of Akwa Ibom state saw a rainbow-tinted oil slick stretching for 20 miles from a pipeline that Exxon had shut down because of a leak a week ago. Locals scooped it into jerry cans.

Mark Ward, the managing director of ExxonMobil’s local unit, said a clean up had been mobilized, and he apologized to affected communities for the spill.

Exxon said last Sunday it had shut a pipeline off the coast of Akwa Ibom state after an oil leak whose cause was unknown. Read the full article

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