Divers identify broken pipeline as source of Gulf oil spill
In a satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies, an oil slick is shown on Sept. 2, 2021 south of Port Fourchon, La. The U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday, Sept. 4, that cleanup crews are responding to a sizable oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida. (Maxar Technologies via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Divers at the site of an ongoing oil spill that appeared in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Ida have identified the apparent source as 1-foot diameter pipeline displaced from a trench on the ocean floor and broken open.
The Houston-based company currently paying for the cleanup, Talos Energy, said in a statement that the busted pipeline does not belong to them.
Two 95-foot response vessels remain on location at the spill attempting to contain and recover oil from the water’s surface.
The Associated Press first reported Wednesday that aerial photos showed a mileslong brown and black oil slick spreading about 2 miles south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana.