Oil slick pipeline leak has finally been STOPPED after 126,000 gallons spilled and caused 13-square-mile slick in California: Amplify Energy's share price plunges by 50% and mayor threatens lawsuit
The CEO of an energy firm whose pipeline leaked 126,000 gallons of oil onto the California coast says the spillage has stopped, with his company's share price plunging by more than 50 per cent on Monday amid fury over the environmental catastrophe.
Martyn Willsher, who oversees the operations of Houston-based oil company Amplify Energy Corp., said Sunday that his company's 17½-mile underwater pipeline that sprung the leak had been 'suctioned at both ends' over the weekend, so that no more oil would spill out into the already contaminated Pacific, and shores of a 13 mile stretch of coastline encompassing Huntington Beach as well as Newport Beach.
The oil it did leak - equivalent to 3,000 barrels - represented the entire capacity of the pipeline. On Monday morning, Amplify's shares plunged by 50.43 per cent, from $5.75 per share to $2.85 a share as stock markets opened.
Its share price had climbed to $3.14 per share by 10:50am, but that was still down 45.3 per cent on Friday's close.
Investors are no doubt spooked by the prospect of lawsuits, with Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr vowing to hold the oil firm 'accountable.' The spillage - believed to have begun on Friday - canceled the second day of the popular Pacific Air Show, which attracted more than one million visitors on Saturday, with local businesses also likely to make claims for compensation.
Willsher added that the company is investigating the spill and that divers were at a potential source site of the leak, asserting that the pipeline - built in the late 70s and early 80s - has had undergone maintenance and has been 'meticulously maintained' every year since, even during the COVID pandemic.
'Everything is shut down,' Willsher said. 'Our employees live and work in these communities, and we're all deeply impacted and concerned about the impact,' the executive added.
'We will do everything in our power to ensure that this is recovered as quickly as possible.'
The pipeline is operated by Beta, a Long Beach-based offshoot of Amplify. It sat 80 feet to 100 feet below the surface, and was linked to three offshore platforms.
An aerial photo shot Sunday shows oil begin to pool on the sandy shores of the Santa Ana River, close to Newport Beach in California
A fish is visible swimming under an oil slick in Huntington Beach's Talbert Channel, amid fears the weekend's spill will kill large numbers of fish and birds
The major oil spill off the coast of Southern California has been stopped, according to the company responsible, after 126,000 gallons of crude spread across Orange County shorelines on Sunday evening
Oil formed into globules, foam and sheen that flowed in from high tide and was held back by a sand berm and boom in a trapped pool as a major oil spill washes ashore on the border of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach
Amplify stock plummeted by more than half of its market value Monday morning in pre-opening trading, compared to the day prior
The leak - which likely sprung late Friday night - left a slew of beaches in the Orange County area badly contaminated, with locals banned from taking to the waters.
Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said Saturday that the beaches of the community nicknamed 'Surf City' could remain closed for months, and hinted that her office is investigating ways to hold the oil company accountable.
'In a year that has been filled with incredibly challenging issues, this oil spill constitutes one of the most devastating situations that our community has dealt with in decades,' Carr said.
'In the coming days and weeks we challenge the responsible parties to do everything possible to rectify this environmental catastrophe.'
Carr added: 'We are doing everything in our power to protect the health and safety of our residents, our visitors and our natural habitats.'
Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said Saturday that the beaches of the community nicknamed 'Surf City' could remain closed for months, and hinted that her office is investigating ways to hold the oil company accountable.
However, oil still 'infiltrated' and contaminated Talbert Marsh, a wetland situated on the Orange County coast, home to many bird species.
The county is building a sand berm barrier to keep the oil from intruding further, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said on Sunday.
Foley added that hordes of dead birds and fish have washed ashore along the county's coast.
Authorities said the oil came from Platform Elly, a pipeline operated by Beta Offshore, a Long Beach unit of Houston’s Amplify Energy.
Hordes of dead birds and fish have washed ashore along the county's coast after the 13-square-mile spill left the area contaminated
The 13-square-mile slick has spread all across the Orange County coast, including to Newport Beach to the south, and will likely continue to do so, officials said.
U.S. Representative Michelle Steel, a Republican representing part of the affected area, sent a letter to Democratic President Joe Biden requesting a major disaster declaration for Orange County, which would free up federal funds to help with the clean-up efforts.
The spill occurred in federal waters. In a statement, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), a division of the Interior Department, said it was supporting response efforts headed by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The bureau said its role was to 'assist in identifying the location and source of any spills and provide technical assistance in stopping the spillage'.
The coast is a renowned habitat for threatened and endangered species including humpback whales and a small wading bird called the snowy plover.
The Coast Guard has recovered 3,150 gallons of oil from the water and deployed 5,360 feet of skimmers and floating barriers known as booms to try to stop further incursion into the wetlands and the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.
No comments