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7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 Secrecy shrouds decade-old oil spill in Gulf of Mexico By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and JEFF DONN The Associated Press OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO — A blanket of fog lifts, exposing a band of rainbow sheen that stretches for miles off the coast of Louisiana. From the vantage point of an airplane, it’s easy to see gas bubbles in the slick that mark the spot where an oil platform toppled during a 2004 hurricane, triggering what might be the longest-running commercial oil spill ever to pol- lute the Gulf of Mexico. Yet more than a decade after crude started leaking at the site formerly operated by Taylor Energy Company, few people even know of its existence. The company has downplayed the leak’s extent and environmental impact, likening it to scores of minor spills and natural seeps the Gulf routinely absorbs. An Associated Press inves- tigation has revealed evidence that the spill is far worse than what Taylor — or the govern- ment — have publicly report- ed during their secretive, and costly, effort to halt the leak. 3UHVHQWHG ZLWK $3¶V ¿QGLQJV that the sheen recently averaged about 91 gallons of oil per day across eight square miles, the Coast Guard provided a new leak estimate that is about 20 times greater than one recently touted by the company. Outside experts say the spill could be even worse — possibly one of the largest ever in the Gulf. Taylor’s oil was befouling the Gulf for years in obscuri- ty before BP’s massive spill in mile-deep water outraged the nation in 2010. Even industry experts haven’t heard of Taylor’s slow-motion spill, which has been leaking like a steady trickle from a faucet, compared to the ¿UHKRVHWKDWZDV%3¶VJXVKHU Taylor, a company renowned in Louisiana for the philan- thropy of its deceased founder, has kept documents secret that would shed light on what it has done to stop the leak and elimi- nate the persistent sheen. The Coast Guard said in WKHOHDNSRVHGD³VLJQL¿- cant threat” to the environment, though there is no evidence oil from the site has reached shore. Ian MacDonald, a Florida State University biological ocean- ography professor and expert witness in a lawsuit against Tay- lor, said the sheen “presents a substantial threat to the environ- ment” and is capable of harming ELUGV¿VKDQGRWKHUPDULQHOLIH Using satellite images and pollution reports, the watchdog group SkyTruth estimates be- tween 300,000 and 1.4 million gallons of oil has spilled from the site since 2004, with an an- nual average daily leak rate be- tween 37 and 900 gallons. If SkyTruth’s high-end es- timate of 1.4 million gallons is accurate, Taylor’s spill would be about 1 percent the size of BP’s, which a judge ruled amounted to 134 million gallons. That would still make the Taylor spill the 8th largest in the Gulf since 1970, according to a list compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmo- spheric Administration. “The Taylor leak is just a great example of what I call a dirty lit- tle secret in plain sight,” said Sky- Truth President John Amos. Taylor has spent tens of mil- AP Photo/Charlie Riedel A brown pelican tries to raise its wings as it sits on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast after being drenched in oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. June 3, 2010. See more photos at www.dailyastorian.com. U.S. Coast Guard via AP, File AP Photo/Dave Martin Crude oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill is seen inside a wave as it washes ashore in Orange Beach, Ala., June 12, 2010. An April 20, 2010, explosion at the offshore platform killed 11 men, and the subsequent leak released an estimated 172 million gallons of pe- troleum into the Gulf of Mexico. lions of dollars to contain and stop its leak, but it says nothing can be done to completely halt the chronic slicks. The New Orleans based company presented federal reg- ulators last year with a proposed ³¿QDOUHVROXWLRQ´DWWKHVLWHEXW the details remain under wraps. For years, the government has allowed the company to shield other spill-related information from public scrutiny — all in the name of protecting trade secrets. Industry experts and envi- URQPHQWDODGYRFDWHVDUHEDIÀHG by Taylor’s inability to stop the OHDNDQGLWVGHPDQGVIRUFRQ¿- dentiality. “It’s not normal to have a spill like this,” said Ken Arnold, an industry consultant and for- mer engineering manager for Shell Oil Company. “The whole thing surprises me. Normally, ZH¿[WKLQJVPXFKPRUHTXLFN- ly than this.” Five years ago, it took 87 days for BP to cap its blown-out Gulf well and halt the worst off- shore oil spill in the nation’s his- tory. The disaster, which killed 11 rig workers, exposed weak- nesses in the industry’s safety culture and gaps in its spill re- sponse capabilities. Taylor’s leak provided ear- OLHUHYLGHQFHRIKRZGLI¿FXOWLW can be for the industry to pre- vent or stop a spill in an unfor- giving environment. But the company has balked at sharing information that could help oth- er offshore operators prepare for a similar incident, saying it’s a valuable asset. :KHWKHU LW FDQ SUR¿W IURP any industry innovations is de- batable. The company sold all its offshore leases and oil and gas interests in 2008, four years after founder Patrick Taylor died. Down to just one full-time employee, Taylor Energy exists RQO\WRFRQWLQXH¿JKWLQJDVSLOO that has no end in sight. Learning Curve Hurricane Ivan whipped into the Gulf of Mexico in 2004, churning up waves that triggered an underwater mudslide and toppled Taylor’s platform. The platform stood roughly 10 miles off Louisiana’s coast in approx- imately 475 feet of water. The mudslide buried the cluster of 28 wells under mounds of sedi- ment. Taylor tried to remove the unstable sediment covering the damaged wells, but determined it was too dangerous for divers. O u r cu sto m ers experien ce so m e o f T life’ s grea test a ssists o ff the co u rt. Tru st yo u r lo ca l S ta te Fa rm ® a gen t fo r help fin d in g the right co vera ge a n d sa vin gs o n yo u r in su ra n ce so yo u ca n en jo y m o re o f w ha t yo u lo ve. CONTACT A LOCAL AGENT TODAY. W E EX IST TO ASSIST. Without access to the bur- ied wells, traditional “plug and abandon” efforts wouldn’t work. In 2005, hurricanes Katrina and Rita disrupted the company’s re- sponse efforts for several months. In 2007, slick sightings became more frequent near the wreckage. In 2008, the Coast Guard, con- cerned about the environmental threat of the leak, ordered addition- al work, including daily monitor- ing flights over the site. Just as BP had to improvise a method for capping its well in mile-deep water, Taylor says it formulated an “unprecedented plan” for containing the leak and sealing its buried wells. Only the broad outlines of the company’s efforts are publicly known. A contractor designed a device to capture and dispose of RLODQGJDVÀRZLQJIURPWKHVHD- bed where its wells are buried. Another contractor drilled new wells to intercept and plug nine wells deemed capable of leaking oil. $\HDUDJRIHGHUDORI¿FLDOV convened a workshop on the leak. Months later, the company presented regulators its proposal IRUD¿QDOUHVROXWLRQDWWKHVLWH 7KDW SODQ UHPDLQV FRQ¿GHQWLDO but Taylor Energy President William Pecue has said experts Fire boat response crews spray water on the burning BP Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig, April 21, 2010. An April 20, 2010, explosion at the platform killed 11 men, and the subsequent leak released an estimated 172 million gal- lons of petroleum into the gulf. DQG JRYHUQPHQW RI¿FLDOV DJUHH that the “best course of action LVWRQRWWDNHDQ\DI¿UPDWLYH action” due to the possible risks of additional drilling. 7D\ORUKDGWRVKDUHFRQ¿GHQ- tial records with the Waterkeeper Alliance, a New York City-based environmental group that sued the company in 2012 over its se- crecy. But the company has ag- gressively worked to keep them from the public, stamping thou- sands of pages of documents as FRQ¿GHQWLDODQGKHDYLO\UHGDFW- ing its president’s deposition. A report related to the March 2014 workshop is under seal, with the company arguing in D FRXUW ¿OLQJ WKDW UHOHDVLQJ LW would undermine the govern- ment’s decision-making pro- cess. And a court order prohibits the Waterkeeper Alliance from GLVVHPLQDWLQJDQ\RIWKHFRQ¿- dential records. During his deposition for the lawsuit, Pecue said the company developed innovations of “huge value” to another company in a similar situation. “Much of what we spent was because there was no pre-exist- ing way to address this type of event in the history of our indus- try,” he said. Long before Taylor’s leak, the industry learned of the risks of drilling in the Gulf’s mud- slide-prone areas. In 1969, Hur- ricane Camille caused a mud- slide that destroyed a platform and damaged another. Taylor’s platform had been installed in 1984 by Sohio Pe- troleum, which started drilling wells before the company was acquired by BP. Taylor pur- chased the platform from BP in 1994 and drilled additional wells. Pecue, the company’s last remaining full-time employee, said Taylor didn’t do anything to assess the risk of mudslides at its platform besides verifying that the previous leaseholder’s per- mits and designs met regulatory requirements. Soon after Taylor’s platform toppled, a company contractor hired Louisiana State University professor Harry Roberts to per- form a geological analysis of the site. Roberts said it had appeared to have been “reasonably stable” before Ivan struck. “But it turned out not to be,” he added. “It is a learning curve. Maybe this is a point on the learning curve that other compa- nies can learn from.” HUGE APRIL GOLF SALE!! Mention Or Bring In This Ad And Save!! Save Big on Last Year’s Gear from Titleist, Callaway, TaylorMade, Cobra, Nike, Adams, Cleveland, and more! Drivers - $149.00 Fairways & Hybrids - $99.00 Putters & Wedges - $69.00 SALE E NDS SOON! ALL THE NAME BRANDS ON SALE!! 50% OFF Select Apparel, Raingear, Shoes, and Caps 40% OFF Golf Bags S PLU SAVE BIG ON GOLF PASSES! Buy a One-Year Pass and receive a $100.00 Gift Certificate for Merchandise! Buy a 10 Round Local Pass for only $99.00 (That’s only $10.00 per round!) 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