Bob Williams
Senior Staff Writer
Cleanup continued last week of a Feb. 7 spill of about 9,458 bbl of Alaskan North Slope crude off the southern California coast amid renewed furor over the U.S. petroleum industry's ability to work safely offshore.
BP America, which took responsibility, expected to have most of the gross contamination cleaned up by the end of this week. At presstime, the focus was shifting to second phase cleanup.
BP was still working on cost estimates for the cleanup. Unofficial preliminary costs, exclusive of any damage claims, are pegged at $750,000/day-probably more. BP's contractor on the cleanup, VECO Inc., was spending about $200,000/day in payroll costs alone last week.
Rough weather at midweek last week halted skimming operations but also deposited most of the oil remaining on the water onto beaches, where it was easier to clean up. Very little oil remained on the water last week, said BP Crisis Management Manager Chuck Webster.
SENSITIVE AREAS SECURE
At presstime last week, it appeared that the most sensitive areas, wetlands bird sanctuaries along the 14 mile stretch of coast between Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, were secure.
About 393 birds recovered were still alive, and 176 birds died. Of the dead birds, only about 30 died at the wildlife recovery center.
BP still had about 1,400 workers mainly cleaning beaches, with some deploying booms at presstime last week. In addition, BP's crisis response team totaled 104 persons. As of early morning Feb. 15, BP had deployed 15,800 ft of containment boom and 20,910 ft of absorbent boom, with 300,000 ft of total boom available.
Just before high winds and heavy seas hit Feb. 14, as many as 20 skimmers were working offshore. After the weather settled, three skimmers were returned to service early Feb. 15. In addition, three vacuum trucks were deployed.
BP's focus this week will shift to cleaning up incidents of tar balls and determining residual contamination.
"We're very encouraged," Webster said. "All the evidence is that the storm brought in almost all the remaining oil. There are a few more areas where we still have to go back and clean."
COMPLETING THE JOB
BP won't estimate when the cleanup might be complete. "We are going to go back with a fine-tooth comb until the job is done."
The big fleet of skimmers together with good weather contributed to "an almost unprecedented on-water recovery," Webster said.
Typically, on-water recovery of spilled oil is about 8%, according to U.S. Coast Guard data. Webster expects BP's efforts to result in an on-water recovery rate of three to four times that rate.
As of Feb. 15, BP's recovery of black oil in the water was about 25%, Webster said. The Coast Guard's estimate, which includes oiled materials, is closer to about one-third.
At presstime last week, about 43% of the spill had evaporated and about 25% had been recovered on the water. There were reports of small oil sheens remaining on the water, and BP was studying areas where skimming might still prove useful.
BP early last week accelerated cleanup efforts as a 12 mile long by 3 mile wide slick off the coast between Huntington Beach and Newport Beach threatened beaches and sensitive bird sanctuary wetlands in the area. California state and city officials closed about 9 miles of public beaches.
Investigation of the spill is continuing, but evidence so far points to the anchor of the 82,300 dwt American Trader tanker apparently puncturing the vessel's hull in sea swells as it maneuvered during lightering near its anchorage off Huntington Beach (OGJ, Feb. 12, Newsletter). BP chartered the tanker from American Trading & Transport Co., New York.
The American Trader completed offloading late last week and returned to anchorage off Long Beach under its own power with 460,000 bbl of oil still on board in other holds.
At Long Beach, the vessel's punctured hull will be inspected and given a cement patch before being sent to a shipyard-as yet undetermined-for repairs.
The American Trader's two starboard holes-one 5 ft in diameter, the other 4 ft in diameter-were temporarily patched by Feb. 11.
BP EFFORTS
BP hired VECO Feb. 10 to clean the California shoreline from the Huntington Beach pier to the Santa Ana River delta.
VECO was the main contractor Exxon Corp. hired to clean up the Mar. 24, 1989, Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound off Alaska. It recruited workers and equipment from its Anchorage office for the California spill.
VECO by Feb. 12 had 200 employees at work, averaging cleanup of about 1,000 yd/day of beach.
BP established a 40 man "hot spot" team to dispatch to the hardest hit areas and planned more such teams if needed.
BP also hired Entrix a Walnut Creek, Calif., environmental services company, to conduct an onshore-offshore environmental monitoring program covering about 100 miles from San Onofre to Seal Beach/Anaheim Bay.
Entrix has eight specialists studying sediments and conducting water quality sampling at 10 sites. It also is conducting surveys of roosting shorebirds, aerial censuses of bird congregations, and inspections of nesting areas.
REPERCUSSIONS
Although the California Beach spill is small compared with the Exxon Valdez spill, it also may have grim political repercussions.
California officials renewed calls for halting offshore exploration and development, while congressmen pushed for more stringent oil spill and tanker safety legislation.
Environmentalists criticized the petroleum industry again and pressed their campaign to sharply cut U.S. oil use through alternate fuels and conservation.
The accident may prove a setback as well for the Point Arguello field project off California. Arguello group operator Chevron Corp. is seeking a new permit for interim tankering from Santa Barbara County to Los Angeles (OGJ, Dec. 18, 1989, p. 14).
The spill also added to momentum for other proposed environmental measures industry is fighting in California: the Environmental Protection Initiative, state Oil Spill Prevention and Cleanup Act, and South Coast Air Quality Management District's Air Quality Management Plan (OGJ, Feb. 5, p. 30).
Copyright 1990 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.