Spill Cleanup Under Way at Louisiana Offshore Oil Port

Spill cleanup under way on shore near LOOP (USCG)

The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to a spill at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the United States' only VLCC-capable loading terminal. The spill began nine days ago, according to LOOP, and remediation work is still proceeding.

On February 26, crude oil was discovered near its offshore loading terminal. The leak was caused by a material failure of a cargo transfer hose, LOOP said. The source of the leak has been secured, the Coast Guard said. Local TV station WWL Louisiana first reported the spill based on residents' reports, and confirmed the presence of a slick using satellite imaging.

An estimated 32,000 gallons of oil were released, and spill recovery efforts are under way. A remarkable 28,000 gallons of crude - nearly 90 percent of the spill - has been recovered. More than 460 people and 60 vessels are at work on the cleanup, and work continues.

LOOP was built to take import deliveries of crude oil, but in the 2010s, the U.S. lifted a ban on oil exports and the terminal switched to shipping outbound cargoes. It is connected to 60 million barrels of underground salt cavern storage capacity - most of it dedicated to offshore production - and another 12 million barrels in aboveground tanks. In initial configuration, its 48-inch pipe was designed to handle 1.2 million bpd; the firm says that it has moved 15 billion barrels over its long lifespan.