Four days after the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) initiated an investigation into an oil spill in the Catshill Field off Moruga, another spill has developed in the Gulf of Paria.
The Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries said yesterday that it received a report of a possible leak on a six inch diameter pipeline from Platform Nine to Riser Platform Two in the Main Soldado Field of Petrotrin Trinmar Operations.
A media release stated that the leak was immediately isolated and an assessment was undertaken by Petrotrin’s HSE personnel aboard the vessel Gulf Command.
The spill was estimated to be 95 per cent sheen and five per cent brown patches with an estimated volume of 10 barrels. The distance of spill from the shoreline was last reported at 4.26 nautical miles.
In response, an emergency command centre was set up at Trinmar Operations’ Marine Base in Point Fortin while emergency response vessels staffed by HSE personnel were mobilised to dispense cansorb to neutralise the oil.
A team of divers was mobilised to assess and repair the line while the shoreline and nearshore checks at Icacos, Fullerton and Columbus Bay indicated no impact up to yesterday afternoon. Air surveillance of the affected area was also being undertaken.
OWTU president general Ancel Roget told the media yesterday that some of the workers at Trinmar Offshore Operations, who were expected to attend the union’s meeting in Pointe-a-Pierre yesterday, were instructed to report to work to deal with the spill.
The oil spill reportedly occurred between 11.30 pm Thursday and 12.30 am yesterday. Roget said there were no reports of the oil reaching shore. He said that an investigation team will have to be appointed to determine the source of the oil spill and the cause.