Skimmers Work to Collect 1M Gallons of Oil in Gulf

Crews try to find source of pipeline leak off Louisiana
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 20, 2023 5:35 PM CST
Coast Guard Works to Clean 1M Gallons of Oil in Gulf
An oil skimmer collects oil from a leaking pipeline in 2010 after the collapse of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico near the coast of Louisiana.   (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

A leak from an underwater pipeline released more than 1 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico before the flow was shut off, the Coast Guard estimated. The leak was spotted Thursday, about 19 miles offshore of the Mississippi River Delta southeast of New Orleans, Reuters reports. Main Pass Oil Gathering Co. turned off the 67-mile line the same day. On Friday and Saturday, overflights saw the oil moving to the southwest, away from the Louisiana shore, per WDSU. No injuries or shoreline impacts have been reported.

Crews are searching for the source of the leak, which was near Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, using underwater remote-operated vehicles. The Coast Guard said three skimming vessels are trying to remove the oil on the surface. The National Response Team was activated, the Environmental Protection Agency said, which mobilizes 15 federal entities to help. (More oil leak stories.)

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