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More USA pipeline spills
Volume 1 I / N u m b e r I l / N o v e m b e r 1980
The first indication of the discharge was when a mile-long oil slick was sighted and later a heavily-oiled seal pup was found near Skomer, an island bird reserve. Warden of Skomer, Mike Alexander, has now become resigned to oil spills near the island. At the moment it is impossible to trace a culprit unless another ship catches the vessel redhanded, but Alexander and his colleagues have suggested three new ways to stop the discharges. One would be the use of a spotter plane, already in use by Shetland Islands Council around the giant Sullom Voe terminal. Another would be the introduction of a data bank containing tankers past records. Harbour masters could then decide whether or not to allow a vessel to dock in his port. Britain however opposes this system, as it may lead to action against British vessels at ports outside Europe. The third measure would be to make oil companies and vessel owners pay for all costs of cleaning up oil pollution, but this, while putting a burden on British shipping, would do nothing to deter the enormous volume of international shipping sailing past the British Isles.
Another major leak occurred following a pipeline rupture in Winchester, Texas, USA, when about 230 000 gal of oil spilled into a tributary of the Colorado River. The spill was discovered during a routine overflight but oil had been leaking at about 25 000 gal h-~ from a 6-in. rupture. A spokesman for the company, Matador, said the rupture was caused by the main booster pump which caused the pipe to bang against a crossbar. Vacuum trucks and tanks were used during cleanup operations, but the steep creek banks made it inaccessible without the removal of some trees. In one week crews had recovered about 80 000 gal of oil. The spill caused extensive environmental damage to wildlife in the area. A 4-in. rupture in a discharge line from two storage tanks caused 15 000 gal oil leak into the Great Miami River, Ohio. The line, at an iron ore smelting facility in New Miami, severed during a storm after a crane fell onto it. Staff who first had to deal with another explosion were delayed in dealing with the leak. About 3000--4000 gal of oil reached the river.
Cool Welcome for CITES 60thMember
Rig Oil Spill Aid
Japan's decision to become the 60th member of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) has been given only a 'qualified welcome' by the World Wildlife Fund. The Japanese government has placed reservations rather than trade bars on nine threatened animals, which the WWF say are already severely depleted by the country's trade. Reptiles in particular are a valuable source of skin, shell, meat and oil for Japan, and in 1978 they imported nearly a ton of rhino horn. A spokesman for the WWF said: " I t was precisely their high volume of trade that made a ban on overexploitation essential." The Japanese Environmental Agency, however, say that the reservations were only for a limited period to protect workers' jobs in affected industries, and they were considering the possibility of establishing reptile farms to produce regular supplies of products without endangering the wildlife. WWF have said that they will be closely watching how long it takes both Japan and some European countries to give the required CITES protection to endangered species.
More USA Pipeline Spills A severed pip~ at a Mid-Valley Pipeline Co storage facility in Cygnet, Ohio, caused almost 145 000 gal of asphaltic sour crude oil to spill into a ditch leading to the Portage River. A worker at Buckeye Pipeline Company reportedly cut the line at the boundary of the property while removing 'dead' lines in a routine maintenance operation. The worker temporarily blocked the cut with a rubber plug, t/ut when transfer operations began that night, a vital valve was left open, causing the oil to flow into the severed pipe, which could not stand the strain. Rain carried about 4000 gal of oil into the river via the ditch.
A new invention which could help cut down the amount of oil lost in rig mishaps has been designed by Norwegian engineers. Jan Walen and Alf Hatlebrekke of West Engineering and Research in Bergen call the device an 'oil well arrester' (OWA). It is a cone that can lead gas into a safe flare, giving the operators more chance of tackling escaping oil. The OWA is 4 in. in diameter, has a double skin to hold ballast tanks and up to 16 m of flexible pipe. A recovery team would be needed to tow the cone to a position on the surface above the well head, and open its ballast tanks to let it sink to the sea bed. A hydraulically operated cover would then allow the upward rush ofoil to escape. With the cone bit into the sea bed the team would close the cover and open valves to let the oil pass through pipes into a tanker or gas flare. The designers say that the partial vacuum created by the flow of oil inside the cone would pull it down harder into the sea bed, preventing water from rushing in.
Canada's New Oil Research Body A new oil spill research organization has been set up by the Canadian petroleum industry. The Canadian Offshore Oil Spill Research Association (COOSRA) hopes to be able to conduct and sponsor controlled experiments on oil spills, equipment, dispersants, and other related research in marine areas around Canada. The Association also hopes to improve relations between the petroleum industry and other bodies relative to oil spill research. COOSRA, which is to be sponsored by the Arctic Petroleum Operator's Association and the Eastcoast Petroleum Operator's Association, will have three classes of members-companies with gas or petroleum holdings (Operator members); companies without holdings who support the aims of the Association (Associate members); 309
The first indication of the discharge was when a mile-long oil slick was sighted and later a heavily-oiled seal pup was found near Skomer, an island bird reserve. Warden of Skomer, Mike Alexander, has now become resigned to oil spills near the island. At the moment it is impossible to trace a culprit unless another ship catches the vessel redhanded, but Alexander and his colleagues have suggested three new ways to stop the discharges. One would be the use of a spotter plane, already in use by Shetland Islands Council around the giant Sullom Voe terminal. Another would be the introduction of a data bank containing tankers past records. Harbour masters could then decide whether or not to allow a vessel to dock in his port. Britain however opposes this system, as it may lead to action against British vessels at ports outside Europe. The third measure would be to make oil companies and vessel owners pay for all costs of cleaning up oil pollution, but this, while putting a burden on British shipping, would do nothing to deter the enormous volume of international shipping sailing past the British Isles.
Another major leak occurred following a pipeline rupture in Winchester, Texas, USA, when about 230 000 gal of oil spilled into a tributary of the Colorado River. The spill was discovered during a routine overflight but oil had been leaking at about 25 000 gal h-~ from a 6-in. rupture. A spokesman for the company, Matador, said the rupture was caused by the main booster pump which caused the pipe to bang against a crossbar. Vacuum trucks and tanks were used during cleanup operations, but the steep creek banks made it inaccessible without the removal of some trees. In one week crews had recovered about 80 000 gal of oil. The spill caused extensive environmental damage to wildlife in the area. A 4-in. rupture in a discharge line from two storage tanks caused 15 000 gal oil leak into the Great Miami River, Ohio. The line, at an iron ore smelting facility in New Miami, severed during a storm after a crane fell onto it. Staff who first had to deal with another explosion were delayed in dealing with the leak. About 3000--4000 gal of oil reached the river.
Cool Welcome for CITES 60thMember
Rig Oil Spill Aid
Japan's decision to become the 60th member of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) has been given only a 'qualified welcome' by the World Wildlife Fund. The Japanese government has placed reservations rather than trade bars on nine threatened animals, which the WWF say are already severely depleted by the country's trade. Reptiles in particular are a valuable source of skin, shell, meat and oil for Japan, and in 1978 they imported nearly a ton of rhino horn. A spokesman for the WWF said: " I t was precisely their high volume of trade that made a ban on overexploitation essential." The Japanese Environmental Agency, however, say that the reservations were only for a limited period to protect workers' jobs in affected industries, and they were considering the possibility of establishing reptile farms to produce regular supplies of products without endangering the wildlife. WWF have said that they will be closely watching how long it takes both Japan and some European countries to give the required CITES protection to endangered species.
More USA Pipeline Spills A severed pip~ at a Mid-Valley Pipeline Co storage facility in Cygnet, Ohio, caused almost 145 000 gal of asphaltic sour crude oil to spill into a ditch leading to the Portage River. A worker at Buckeye Pipeline Company reportedly cut the line at the boundary of the property while removing 'dead' lines in a routine maintenance operation. The worker temporarily blocked the cut with a rubber plug, t/ut when transfer operations began that night, a vital valve was left open, causing the oil to flow into the severed pipe, which could not stand the strain. Rain carried about 4000 gal of oil into the river via the ditch.
A new invention which could help cut down the amount of oil lost in rig mishaps has been designed by Norwegian engineers. Jan Walen and Alf Hatlebrekke of West Engineering and Research in Bergen call the device an 'oil well arrester' (OWA). It is a cone that can lead gas into a safe flare, giving the operators more chance of tackling escaping oil. The OWA is 4 in. in diameter, has a double skin to hold ballast tanks and up to 16 m of flexible pipe. A recovery team would be needed to tow the cone to a position on the surface above the well head, and open its ballast tanks to let it sink to the sea bed. A hydraulically operated cover would then allow the upward rush ofoil to escape. With the cone bit into the sea bed the team would close the cover and open valves to let the oil pass through pipes into a tanker or gas flare. The designers say that the partial vacuum created by the flow of oil inside the cone would pull it down harder into the sea bed, preventing water from rushing in.
Canada's New Oil Research Body A new oil spill research organization has been set up by the Canadian petroleum industry. The Canadian Offshore Oil Spill Research Association (COOSRA) hopes to be able to conduct and sponsor controlled experiments on oil spills, equipment, dispersants, and other related research in marine areas around Canada. The Association also hopes to improve relations between the petroleum industry and other bodies relative to oil spill research. COOSRA, which is to be sponsored by the Arctic Petroleum Operator's Association and the Eastcoast Petroleum Operator's Association, will have three classes of members-companies with gas or petroleum holdings (Operator members); companies without holdings who support the aims of the Association (Associate members); 309