ONGC pipeline rupture spills 25,000 barrels of oil into sea
22 Jan 2011
A upture in ONGC's Mumbai-Uran pipeline yesterday caused 25,000 barrels of crude to leak into the ocean. An official of the Indian Coast Guard the information regarding the spill was received by the ICG yesterday morning.
Coast Guard DIG Mukesh Purohit said the coast guard immediately launched operation 'Paryavaran Suraksha' to mitigate the effects of the oil spill.
He added two ships, patrolling off the Mumbai coastline Indian Coast Guard chip Sangram and C-145, were diverted to the area of the oil spill for assessment and containment.
The Coast Guard said Dornier Aircraft were pressed into service to carry out a preliminary assessment of the total area and scale of the oil spill along with, Pollution Control
Vehicle, Samudra Prahari to contain and recover oil from the area.
Ruling out the possibility of sabotage, Purohit said however, that the reasons behind the oil spill were not known.
Meanwhile, the cost guard has in a formal notice to ONGC asked the company to help in salvage operations, Purohit said. He added it was a routine procedure.
ONGC said in a statement that the Coast Guard, after due assessment, withdrew the contingency plan since the ''situation was under control.''
The rupture happened in the Mumbai-Uran trunk (MUT) pipeline that transports crude from the Mumbai High offshore fields. ONGC immediately shut down the pipeline and stopped pumping oil from Mumbai High and Bassein oilfields.
