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Authorities were rushing to identify the source of an oil spill off the coast of Louisiana and control the incident before it could spread environmental damage.
A massive oil spill was being investigated off the coast of Louisiana on Sunday to determine the origin of the incident in the Bay Marchand area of the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The Houston-based Talos Energy, an oil and gas company that also operates in the Gulf, hired Clean Gulf Associates to respond to the oil spill in the polluted area in Bay Marchand, Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. John Edwards said.
Massive Oil Spill Off Louisiana Coast
The company was the one that hired the dive team that is investigating the origin of the oil spill, Edwards said. The official noted that Clean Gulf Associates was running skimmers, devices that removed oil from water, in the area to mitigate the environmental devastations they could cause.
There are multiple teams working to investigate the source and extent of the oil spill's pollution, the Coast Guard said. They will work on a recovery and source control plan after the divers discover the origin of the leak, Edwards said, NPR reported.
As the investigation of the oil spill is still ongoing, officials have not yet determined the source of the incident. While Talos hired Clean Gulf Associates to find the origin of the leak, it does not claim that the company is responsible for the oil spill. The Coast Guard also said it had no information of where the spill could have come from.
Recent satellite photos taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) showed the extent of the oil spill which was located about 3 km off Port Fourchon, Louisiana. The images showed that the source of the leak was somewhere underwater at an offshore drilling site although officials have not yet made any announcements.
Talos Energy released a statement where they said they would, "continue to work closely with the U.S. Coast Guard and other state and federal agencies to identify the source of the release and coordinate with a successful response," BBC reported.
Source of the Incident
Officials discovered two more four-inch pipelines in the area that was open and seemingly abandoned. It was not revealed whether or not the two pipelines were found to be the source of the oil spill.
Talos said that, in the last 48 hours, the rate that the oil was appearing on the surface of the water has significantly slowed down. The incident has so far kept the affected area in the waters and has not reached Louisiana's shoreline. Officials have not yet released an estimation of how much oil was in the water.
The Environmental Protection Agency deployed a specially outfitted survey aircraft to fly over the affected area on Thursday and other industrial areas. In a statement, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality said a state assessment team was sent to the Alliance Refinery and later found a spill of heavy oil.
Authorities said a levee was breached and allowed floodwaters to flow in during the recent storm in the area. State environmental officials said they have not yet determined the amount of oil spill that spread from the Phillips 66 refinery, the Associated Press reported.
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