On April 12th, 2005 BP discovered and reported a release of natural gas and an undetermined amount of condensate from a damaged flowline at drill site 14 in their Greater Prudhoe Bay crude oil production field on the North Slope of Alaska. An updated volume of 1.4 million standard cubic feet of gas and a range of 10-20 barrels of liquids was provided by BP. The source of the release is a gas line that transports pressurized natural gas to the drill site for injection into the reservoir to aid in crude oil recovery. Initial reports indicate a weld failure caused the release. The release resulted in gas condensate / crude oil being misted onto the well pad, the manifold building, various piping associated with the production pad and onto the surrounding frozen, snow covered tundra. The material lightly misted the surface of a large area around the pad; the impact area size is estimated to be app 4,600 feet long by 500 feet wide, app 50 acres. Winter conditions currently exist on the North Slope with frozen tundra covered by snow. Daytime temperatures are -2F with 9 mph winds from the east. The light mist appears to be on the surface of the snow only. Clean-up activates will involve removal of contaminated snow surface that is misted with condensate droplets and cleaning of well pad surfaces and structures. BP is mobilizing additional spill responders through Alaska Clean Seas, (ACS) the North Slope clean-up co-operative , app. 40 personnel are involved in the site clean-up. ADEC has a responder on site for state oversight of response operations. EPA will coordinate oversight through ADEC and RP and keep stakeholder informed of response progress.
