Federal officials continue to monitor and respond to an oil discharge (the MPOG11015 incident) near Main Pass Oil Gathering Co. LLC’s (MPOG) pipeline system near Plaquemines Parish, southeast of New Orleans, La., with the US Coast Guard (USCG) leading clean-up operations.
On Nov. 16, 2023, a crude oil pipeline leak was reported to the National Response Center by Third Coast Midstream Pipeline Co., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The cause of the leak, thought to be 19 miles offshore of the Mississippi River Delta, is yet to be determined.
USCG, MPOG, and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office are coordinating with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Forefront Emergency Management, and other federal, state, and local agencies to respond to the incident.
USCG said overflight teams observed visible oil Friday moving southwest away from the Louisiana shore. Three skimming vessels are working to recover oil on the surface. On Saturday and Sunday, overflights observed intermittent surface sheens. Additional surface observations are ongoing with two Coast Guard cutters on scene and additional overflights, USCG said in a press update Nov. 20.
The 67-mile pipeline was closed by MPOG at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 16. The volume of discharged oil is currently unknown. Initial engineering calculations indicate some 1.1 million gallons of crude oil could have been released from the affected pipeline. No reports of injuries or shoreline impacts have been reported.