Talos responds to oil spill after Ida
An oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the latest damage discovered in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
Talos Energy, a Houston offshore producer, said Saturday it was notified Tuesday of an oil spill located 2 miles off the coast of Port Fouchon, La., where the Category 4 hurricane made landfall last weekend. The company on Wednesday deployed two oil recovery ships equipped with booms and skimmers, and is sending a lift boat with diving equipment to investigate the spill.
“An ongoing investigation has not determined the cause of the release at this time; however, extensive field observations indicate that Talos assets are not the source,” Talos said in a statement Saturday. “To date, no impacts to shoreline or wildlife have been observed.”
The oil spill was found in an unleased oil field called Bay Marchand, Block 5. Talos was notified of the spill because the company was the last leaseholder and operator at the site. Talos and a small interest partner, Tenkay, acquired the lease to the oil field from Stone Energy in 2014. Talos said it ceased production from the oil field in 2017, and plugged all of its wells and removed all of its pipelines from the area by 2019.
Talos said the oil spill is located about 300 yards away from its plugged wells and former locations of its subsea pipelines.
Satellite images on social media of the purported oil spill show a plume of oil emanating from underwater. The New York Times first reported about the oil spill on Saturday.
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which oversees the offshore oil industry, and the U.S. Coast Guard, which responds to oil spills, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.
Environmental concerns are mounting in the wake of Ida, which damaged several oil and gas facilities in Louisiana and offshore platforms in the Gulf. The storm also forced refineries and petrochemical plants to flare, or burn off, excess chemicals before shutting down.
Royal Dutch Shell on Tuesday said its Norco refinery and chemical plant in St. Charles Parish, La., was burning off more natural gas than usual after Ida slammed the region Sunday.
Shell’s Norco manufacturing complex is without power, and photos on social media earlier in the week showed flooding at the site.
Talos said it began responding to the Gulf oil spill on Wednesday, a day after it was notified by Clean Gulf Associates, a nonprofit oil spill cooperative. The company plans to start dive operations on Sunday to investigate the source of the oil leak.
“Talos will continue to work closely with the U.S. Coast Guard and other state and federal agencies to identify the source of the release and coordinate a successful response,” Talos said. “The company’s top priorities are the safety of all personnel and the protection of the public and environment.”