Oil Slick Off Texas Coast Tied to Abandoned Platform in Gulf

Federal and state officials are developing plans to respond to an oil sheen in the Gulf of Mexico tied to an abandoned platform at least eight miles off the Texas coast.

State officials were notified about the apparent spill on July 14 and subsequently attributed it to a flowline riser — which generally carries fluid at the sites — leaking natural gas and condensate. Video posted on social media and airing on KPRC, a local TV station, showed liquid spewing out of the pipe.

There was “a discharge of natural gas, salt water and condensate coming from a recirculation line above the water at the platform, creating a light silvery sheen,” Ensign William McCown, a public affairs officer with the US Coast Guard, said on Sunday. Federal and state officials “are working closely to ensure a plan is enacted to mitigate the pollution threat in a safe and effective manner,” he said.

The episode, first described in social media more than a week ago, is feeding concerns about the abandoned oil platforms that dot the Gulf’s shallow waters.

“This leak is more disturbing evidence of the harms from idle drilling infrastructure off our coasts,” said Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, an advocacy group.

Staff from the Texas General Land Office, the state Railroad Commission and the US Coast Guard inspected the site on Wednesday, according to an update that Texas state Representative Terri Leo Wilson shared on Facebook. “Railroad Commission staff stated that additional research is needed to fully determine ownership of the leak source,” the post said.

Representatives of the land office and RRC didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Sunday afternoon. A unified command including the Coast Guard and those agencies has been established to oversee response.