| Situation Update No. 2 Ref.no.: VI-20100123-24673-USA
Situation Update No. 2
On 2010-01-25 at 05:13:19 [UTC]
Event: Vehicle Accident
Location: USA State of Texas Port of Port Arthur Port Arthur Situation: The Sabine-Neches Waterway, through which four U.S. refineries in east Texas are supplied with oil, remained shut on Sunday as crews worked to clean up an oil spill from a collision Saturday between a barge and an oil tanker. The waterway will remain shut until the crude oil spill is cleaned up, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The spill is contained by several booms intended to prevent it from spreading. "We don't have much of a timeline," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Adam Baylor. "We're working as quickly as possible to clean up the spill." The Texas General Land Office said the spill of 460,000 gallons of crude, or about 11,000 barrels, was the biggest in the state since 1991. The spill triggered a voluntary evacuation recommendation to residents living near the port. Police said about 12 people evacuated on Saturday. They were all back in their homes by Sunday. The four refineries, three in Port Arthur, Texas, and one in Beaumont, Texas, have not reported any shutdowns since a gash was torn in the side of the tanker Eagle Otome on Saturday morning by a barge. The refineries have a combined refining capacity of 1.15 million barrels, equal to about 6.5 percent of total U.S. capacity. The 807-foot (246-meter) Eagle Otome was bound with a cargo of crude to Exxon Mobil Corp's 344,500 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Beaumont, Exxon said. The Beaumont refinery is the sixth-largest in the United States, according to the U.S. Energy Department.
"We do not anticipate any impact to our operations at the Beaumont refinery," said Exxon spokesman Kevin Allexon. A Valero Energy Corp spokesman said the company's 310,000 bpd Port Arthur refinery had offered emergency supplies to the clean-up crews. The plant's operations were unaffected by the crash. A spokeswoman for Motiva Enterprises' 285,000 bpd Port Arthur refinery declined to discuss refinery operations, but said the plant had supplies on hand and contingency plans in place to deal with the situation. Motiva is joint-venture between Shell Oil and Saudi Refining. Total SA did not reply to messages on Sunday. The company has a 232,000 bpd refinery in Port Arthur. The collision between the southbound barge and the northbound tanker occurred near the Valero refinery location, according to the Coast Guard. The Valero refinery is the furthest south of the four supplied by the waterway. Exxon said the Eagle Otome is a double-hulled tanker. On Sunday, the barge was separated from the Eagle Otome. The barge was one of two being moved by the Dixie Vengeance tug boat in the port of Port Arthur on Saturday morning when the collision occurred. The Coast Guard along with the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. The cleanup is being monitored by state and federal environmental agencies. The Sabine-Neches Waterway is a man-made channel that for most of its 60-mile (100-km) length runs parallel to the Sabine River, which marks the Texas-Louisiana border. |
