Commonwealth Oil Refining Company; Guayanilla Bay, PR

Guayanilla Bay, PR | 2005-Mar-21

Initial Notification: At approximately 2330 March 20, 2005 a spill of 6000 to 7000 BBL (250,000-300,000 gallons) of #6 fuel oil was lost from a ruptured pipeline at the Commonwealth Oil Refining Company, Guayanilla Bay, PR. (NRC report 753234). The oil spill occured during a transfer operation when the pipeline supplying fuel to a vessel apparently ruptured due to corrosion. The rupture occured 5000 yards inland. An estimated 50 gallons of oil entered the waterway. The remainder of the release (7000 Bbls or 294,000 gallons) was mostly contained on land in a containment area of pipes and an adjacent ditch. USCG D7 requested NOAA develop weather forecast, tide and current predictions, and resources at risk information in the event of a significant release into the waterway. Recovery operations were effective, and little oil entered the waterway and the oil has remained effectively contained primarily in a land ditch. The only wildlife impacts reported were one egret oiled, but mangrove habitat along the ditch was oiled.