A leak totaling approximately 275 barrels of liquid natural gas from was discovered Sunday afternoon on the North Slope, prompting a multi-agency cleanup response. The pipeline is owned by Harvest Alaska.
The compromised pipeline in an export line from Point Thompson.
Officially, the release is currently an “unknown volume of liquid natural gas condensate,” however, while the volume is still currently being determined, officials with Harvest Alaska say the maximum potential released from the pipeline is calculated to be 11,550 gallons (275 barrels). On-site officials describe the condensate as “a yellow petroleum product that doesn’t share the viscosity of crude oil.”
The liquid natural gas release was located just before noon on Sunday, approximately 35 miles east of Prudhoe Bay and approximately 1 mile southeast of the Badami Pad when a leak detection alarm went off, notifying operational staff. After receiving the alarm and isolating the line, air and ground resources were deployed. Visual confirmation of the leak was observed via aircraft and a ground survey crew provided additional visual confirmation shortly thereafter.
An initial report on the spill area indicates the majority of the impacted tundra is approximately 20-feet wide by 225-feet long, with approximately 4 to 8 inches of snow cover.
In response, the pipeline was immediately shut in and depressurized following the leak alarm notification, which has stopped any remaining condensate from leaving the pipeline.
Further operations to address the leak are underway.
An Incident Management Team including the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is driving the clean up response.
According to a situation report provided Monday, delineation of the spill area has been completed, and mobilization of response resources to the site is underway with recovery operations set to begin shortly.
Mutual aid is being provided by other North Slope operators.
Concerning immediate environmental impacts, the report states there are currently no reports of wildlife in the area.
