Guest guest Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Conoco reports big oily water spill at Alaska field Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:48pm EST ANCHORAGE (Reuters) - A corroded pipeline ruptured on Christmas Day at ConocoPhillips' Kuparuk oil field in Alaska, causing one of the biggest-ever spills of oil-laced water on the North Slope, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said on Tuesday. The 94,920-gallon spill from a corroded water-injection pipeline had little effect on production from North America's second-biggest field department officials said. One well was shut in after the spill was discovered, said Ed Meggert, the Fairbanks-based on-scene spill response coordinator for the DEC. " It remains shut in, and the repairs aren't done yet, " he said. The Kuparuk field can produce nearly 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The December 25 incident was reminiscent of a 200,000-gallon crude oil spill at BP Plc's nearby Prudhoe Bay oil field in 2006 -- the worst oil spill on Alaska's North Slope -- which was also caused by corrosion of a pipeline. Cleanup was largely accomplished by removing contaminated snow and ConocoPhillips took the leaky pipeline out of service to replace it, said Paul Lhotka, an environmental program specialist with the DEC. A ConocoPhillips official was not available to comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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