Dillon Pipeline; right at the Forelands in Cook Inlet

right at the Forelands in Cook Inlet | 1999-Oct-23

Initial Notification: Unocal, which operates 10 of the 15 production platforms that drill for oil in Cook Inlet, notified oil-spill responders at 5 a.m. on Oct. 23, when its sensors detected low pressure in the 6 mile line between the Dillon Platform and Unocal's facility in Nikiski. About 550 barrels of crude flows through the line daily. An 11 a.m. flyover detected a 10 mile lone sheen of oil. The sheen had largely dissipated by 2:30p.m. and responders reported no effect on the shoreline or wildlife. Unocal and spill response vessels laid boom lines and collected small amount of oil. Unocal shut down operations at the platform and ran water through the line to push the remaining oil to Nikiski. It planned to insert natural gas in the line to detect the location of the break, then send divers in to make repairs. It was determined that approximately 12 bbls of oil were released. USCG district 17. Keyword: natural dispersion.