Coast Guard and Texas Railroad Commission personnel place a cofferdam around a wellhead in Tabbs Bay near Baytown, Texas, Feb. 5, 2020. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)
HOUSTON —The Coast Guard, along with multiple agencies, contained the out-of-service wellhead Tuesday that resulted in a crude oil spill in Tabbs Bay near Baytown, Texas.
The Coast Guard and the Railroad Commission of Texas contained the source of the discharge at approximately 7 p.m. Tuesday evening after installing a cofferdam.
Prior to containment, an estimated 630 gallons of crude oil was discharged from the out-of-service wellhead. Approximately four miles of shoreline has been impacted and 11,760 gallons of oily-water mixture has been collected.
Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Technique (SCAT) teams conducted 4.5 miles of shoreline assessment. Over 6,400-feet of containment boom and 12,500-feet of absorbent boom have been deployed. Two vacuum trucks and a floating drum skimmer are on-scene collecting and recovering discharged crude oil. Six workboats are onsite to collect soiled absorbent boom and redeploy new absorbent boom in its place.
Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston Incident Management Division and Drone Team, Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Texas City, Texas General Land Office, Innovative Energy Services, the Railroad Commission of Texas, contracted Oil Spill Removal Organizations and Texas Parks and Wildlife personnel are involved in the response.
The cause of the discharge is under investigation.