Terra Nova Spill - November 21, 2004
The spill occurred in the early morning on Sunday, November 21, 2004. Early estimates reported this spill to be at 40,000 liters. As time went on, newer estimates placed the amount of crude oil spilled from the Terra Nova platform at around 1,000 barrels (170,000 liters), an equivalent to four tanker trucks. A second, smaller spill of around 6 barrels (1,000 liters) from the Henry Goodrich, a submersible drilling rig very close by to the Terra Nova platform, occurred on Wednesday, November 24.
Petro-Canada, who own 34% of shares in the Terra Nova project, reported that the large spill on Sunday was caused by a "mechanical failure". Normally, water being expelled from a rig will first go through a process by which the oil is separated out. "In this instance, effectively what happened is the oil and the water weren't completely separated," said John Downton, director of communications for Petro-Canada. "There was still some oil in the water that was discharged."
Petro-Canada's report clearly states that there was no human error involved in the two spills.
While, according to the reports, most of the oil from the second spill was quickly recovered, it was much more difficult dealing with the larger Terra Nova spill. Hampered by bad weather, it wasn't until sometime on Monday that clean-up ships were able to begin their tasks. Officials were stating publicly that, at most, 25% of the oil will be recovered, while the rest will evaporate over time.
Immediately upon release, the spill began spreading at approximately eight nautical miles per hour in a southerly direction. Within four days the oil covered an area of 57 square kilometers of ocean surface.
In particular danger are the seabirds. According to Ian Jones, head of sea bird ecology at Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland, this is a particularly vulnerable time for the seabirds because they are gathering in this area."The numbers of birds that would be expected to be killed in a spill of this size would definitely number in the hundreds, possibly in the thousands, possibly even in the tens of thousands,'' said Jones. The oil mats the the feathers on the birds such that they no longer have protection from the cold. Most of the birds die of hypothermia.
According to reports, oil was spilling into the ocean for four or five hours before it was detected, however Petro-Canada vice-president Gordon Carrick stated that he doubts that the oil was flowing for that long. Dave Burley, manager of environmental affairs for the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board, made the statement on Thursday, November 25 that, "What we are not satisfied with, to date, is the level of information sharing that Petro-Canada has conducted with the public." However, the board was satisfied with the response planning and readiness of Petro-Canada, if not necessarily the actual response.
SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR BC?
The Terra Nova spill is a dramatic reminder of what could potentially happen on the BC coast should an oil spill occur during offshore exploration or production. Here are some things to remember:
- Sometimes it can be hard to get an accurate estimate of the exact amount of oil spilled. Early numbers were 40,000L, later numbers were 170,000L. Who has an exact number?
- It can also be difficult to get answers in terms of what exactly happened to cause the spill. Petro-Canada is saying "mechanical failure" for the first spill. No clear reason has been given as of yet for the second spill. Who is responsible for being accountable to the public?
- Difficult weather conditions can hinder cleanup. Just like the east coast, the west coast is subject to severe storms, waves and wind. Cleanup ships can be stuck in port for days or even weeks in the winter. While officials have stated that up to 25% of the oil can be recovered from the Terra Nova spill, most investigations have found that under ideal conditions only 5-15% of the oil can ever be recovered. Under less than ideal conditions, which are common for our coast, the numbers are even lower.
- Even this relatively small-sized spill had an extreme affect on the seabirds (and likely other marine biota) of the area. What would the consequences of a larger spill be?
- A spill can happen at any time, and it only needs to happen once to devastate the local ecology and shoreline.
News Stories:
Terra Nova encounters difficulties during re-start - Dec. 21
Update on recovery efforts for Terra Nova incident - Nov. 29
Study warned of offshore spills - Nov. 28
Two failures blamed for oil spill - Nov. 26
Terra Nova oil may have spilled for two hours - Nov. 26
Second oil spill this week shuts down Nfld. rig - Nov. 25
Offshore oil spill 4 times bigger than thought - Nov. 23
Nfld. offshore oil spill 'largest to date' - Nov. 22
Oil production halted after Terra Nova spill - Nov. 22
Weather thwarts cleanup of Nfld. oil spill - Nov. 22
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