Major spill of drilling fluids on North Slope
Ironically, given my last post, comes the news today that one of the largest spills of oil drilling fluids ever in Alaska occurred Saturday at the Kuparuk oil field run by ConocoPhillips.
As many as 80 people were working to contain the spill, estimated at nearly 112,000 gallons, the Anchorage Daily News reported. The spilled material is mostly water with only a trace of crude oil. But much of the water is seawater, and the salt can kill tundra plant life just as crude oil can. It would rank as the third-largest spill ever on the North Slope.
Conoco is majority owner of Kuparuk, with BP having a large minority interest. The other owners are Unocal, ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco.
As many as 80 people were working to contain the spill, estimated at nearly 112,000 gallons, the Anchorage Daily News reported. The spilled material is mostly water with only a trace of crude oil. But much of the water is seawater, and the salt can kill tundra plant life just as crude oil can. It would rank as the third-largest spill ever on the North Slope.
Conoco is majority owner of Kuparuk, with BP having a large minority interest. The other owners are Unocal, ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco.
posted by Matt Weiser at 12:39 PM
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