An Oil Spill Contingency Plan

Abstract

This paper was prepared for the Southwest Texas Section Regional Meeting of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, to be held in Corpus Christi, Tex., April 27, 1973. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon requested to the Editor PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon requested to the Editor of the appropriate journal, provided agreement to give proper credit is made. Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum Engineers office. Such discussions may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, may be considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines. Abstract Second only in importance to an oil spill prevention plan is a detailed response plan prevention plan is a detailed response plan which recognizes an operating area's specific conditions. Following the establishment of broad in-house organizational and communication concepts for oil spill contingencies, such a detailed plan was developed for the Flour Bluff field area of Nueces County, Texas. An inventory of producing facilities, critical areas susceptible to damage, oil spill control resources, marine and topographic features, and meteorological conditions was combined with estimates of slick movement and the latest information on spill containment, recovery and cleanup. The resultant plan of action involved the acquisition of plan of action involved the acquisition of additional equipment and includes specific personnel assignments which are used as the personnel assignments which are used as the balls for preparedness as well as for maintenance and training activities. Equipment adaptations continue to be made as experience and new developments dictate. This type of first-line action supported by appropriate research and industry or community cooperatives should provide the best response to accidental oil spills. Introduction These past few years have seen a major impact on the petroleum industry from the problems and implications associated with oil problems and implications associated with oil spills. Prevention practices are essential and, beyond this, an effective response capability must be developed. The producing function with staffing capabilities in many areas must share the burden of this response capability even though the major pollution risk in an area may be from the marine transport, common carrier, marketing or refining functions. Any oil spill plan will likely be expanded or more specifically evolve as expertise and equipment are developed. In the case history being cited, the first basic written plan was issued in February 1970. With a better knowledge of oil spill control and cleanup techniques, a more comprehensive plan was issued in June 1970. This included plan was issued in June 1970. This included more detailed reporting instructions, a review of control and cleanup techniques, and the organization of a company oil spill team. This team is to maintain the company's control and cleanup knowledge and to serve as staff support on the company On Scene Commander during any response action. Further plan improvement and response capability have been achieved by developing detailed response plans specifically for the Flour Bluff area. plans specifically for the Flour Bluff area.