Lake Pelto Oil Spill; Louisiana Coast, LA

Louisiana Coast, LA | 2004-Jul-09

Initial Notification: At 1800 hrs on the evening of 9 July 2004, the NOAA SSC was notified of a well blowout in Barataria Bay, Louisiana. The initial report to the USCG was of oil spraying 300' into the air from a wellhead. As additional information became available, the magnitude of the problem was much less than originally reported. The release was caused by a pipeline value failure on a small platform located at 29deg 04' 39" N Lat. 090deg 52' 14" W Long. Because of the pressure in the line, the release did create a visible plume, but very little oil was released. The RP reported that only about 30 gallons was actually lost. A small slick was observed at the platform and moving toward open water. An overflight by the USCG identified no oil (or no oil observations of any significance). The light sheen probably dissipated rapidly. NOAA did provide weather and trajectory support based on the initial reports of a potential major oil release.