Thursday, October 10, 2013

Rigzone Is Reporting First Major Oil Spill In Remote Oil Field In North Dakota

Rigzone is reporting (this was also reported in The Bismarck Tribune today):
A Tesoro Logistics LP pipeline has spilled more than 20,000 barrels of crude oil into a North Dakota wheat field, the biggest leak in the state since it became a major U.S. producer.
The six-inch pipeline was carrying crude oil from the Bakken shale play to the Stampede rail facility outside Columbus, North Dakota. The affected part of the line has been shut down, Tesoro said.
Farmer Steven Jensen discovered the leak on Sept. 29 while harvesting wheat on his 1,800-acre farm, about nine miles northeast of Tioga, North Dakota.
Oil was gushing from the pipeline "like a faucet, 4 to 6 inches spewing out," said Jensen, who added that nearby wheat plants were ruined.
The leak did not pose an immediate threat to groundwater sources, Kris Roberts, who leads the environmental response team at the state Department of Health told Reuters.
At an estimated 20,600 barrels, it ranks among the biggest U.S. spills in recent years. It is the biggest oil leak on U.S. land since March, when the rupture of an Exxon Mobil pipeline in Mayflower, Arkansas spilled 5,000 to 7,000 barrels of heavy Canadian crude.
A fair amount of additional information is provided at the link.

2 comments:

  1. if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly.

      I don't want to underplay the tragedy/hardship/expenses for everyone involved in this oil spill -- it was a big deal. I am just amazed, like you, that it didn't get reported until almost 11 days after the spill. And even I would not have noticed that, had another reader not pointed it out to me.

      It will be interesting if Tesoro can have this land reclaimed by next summer so the farmer can plant his winter wheat next year. I believe the area is about the size of seven football fields -- I assume all that topsoil will be removed and topsoil from elsewhere moved in. I would imagine a Caterpillar earth mover could move a football field of topsoil in a day or so? Idle rambling.

      If Tesoro can get this land reclaimed quickly, it would be great public relations if they published the progress, maybe with a webcam after reclamation was well on its way.

      Thank you for taking time to write. Great observation.

      Delete

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