Coast Guard Responds to Damaged Oil Wellhead in Bayou Report

A ruptured oil wellhead here discharges a 90-ft. stream of sweet-medium crude oil Sunday, Jan. 21, 2007. The Coast Guard is working with contractors and local, state and federal agencies to contain and cleanup the spill. U.S. Coast Guard photograph courtesy of Air Station New Orleans personnel.

The Coast Guard is working with local, state and federal agencies today to respond to an oil spill in Bayou Perot La. The oil spill is the result of a damaged sweet medium crude oil wellhead near mile marker 20 of the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway, which was discovered shortly after midnight Saturday. Crews from Coast Guard Sector New Orleans, and Marine Safety Units Morgan City, La., and Houma, La., are responding to the spill. The owner of the well, ExPert Oil & Gas LLC of Covington, La., is working with Environmental Safety and Health Consulting and Training Group (ES&H) and Wild Well Control to locate and secure the source of the spill and to conduct cleanup operations. More than 3,200 feet of oil containment boom has been deployed to prevent the oil from spreading, although it has not yet been determined how much oil has entered the water.

HH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans conducted two overflights Sunday to monitor and assess the situation. The captain of the port for the Port of New Orleans has closed the GICW between mile markers 16 and 35.