An ongoing natural gas leak in Alaska has taken another turn for the worse: Hilcorp Alaska, the company which owns the underwater pipeline, has announced repairs cannot even begin until the ice surrounding it melts, presumably in mid-to-late March.

The crisis began on February 7, when a Hilcorp helicopter pilot spotted bubbling along the route of an 8-inch pipeline. The gas production facility, built in 1964 by Shell, is the oldest of the sixteen offshore platforms currently in the Cook Inlet. The next week, video footage of the leak was itself leaked, and put on YouTube by the environmental nonprofit group Inletkeeper.

Currently, it's estimated that the pipeline is leaking between 210,000 and 310,000 cubic feet of gas a day into the inlet. On February 20, Hilcorp announced in a letter to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation that it could not shut down the pipeline for fear of releasing crude oil into the ocean, nor could it repair the pipeline until mid-to-late March.

The pipeline was converted in 2005 from oil to fuel gas service, and still has residual crude oil in it. "If the gas supply were shut in," Hillcorp said, "seawater would enter the depressurized Pipeline through the leak displacing the remaining gas."

The letter also states that with "respect to repair, the conditions in the Inlet – the broken ice, exacerbated by high tidal flows and limited daylight – prevent the immediate dispatch of divers to inspect and contain the leak in the pipeline." The ten-page letter goes on to state that the methane released by the leak "may present a physical hazard (asphyxiation), but not a chemical hazard (toxicity)."

Of particular worry is the fate of the Cook Inlet belugas, listed as endangered since 2008. Only in December of last year did NOAA put out a roadmap for recovery for the whale, part of which listed the area of the leak as crucial to that plan. "If a significant hypoxic zone is created by a continuing natural gas discharge," NOAA said in a letter of its own, "Cook Inlet belugas and multiple [physical and biological features] of their critical habitat could be adversely affected."

Inletkeeper, which is planning on suing the company, is also questioning the basic logistics of the situation. "Basically Hilcorp is saying 'we cannot respond to an event in Cook Inlet in the winter,'" Bob Shavelson, advocacy director for the Homer, Alaska-based group told Alaska Public Radio. "Our response to that is, 'if you can't address an event whether it's a gas spill or an oil spill in Alaska in the winter, then you should go back to Texas, because you don't have a right to do business here.'"

Similar questions about the ability to repair in the cold have also been broached about the Dakota Access Pipeline, which saw its construction slow due to the frigid winters of North Dakota.

Source: InsideClimateNews </s> ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Latest on an underwater natural gas pipeline leak in Alaska's Cook Inlet (all times local):

The company that owns a natural gas pipeline leaking in Alaska's Cook Inlet says it's pleased that a federal pipeline safety office has not called for an immediate repair.

Hilcorp Alaska LLC estimates that up to 310,000 cubic feet of processed natural gas is spewing daily from its underwater pipe into the inlet that's home to an endangered beluga whale population.

The company says sea ice, strong tides and haphazard weather make it too dangerous for divers to repair the leak immediately.

The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration has issued a proposed safety order calling for repairs by May 1.

Hilcorp says its top priority is the safety of response personnel.

The company says that based on observations to date, the company believes the leak does not pose a threat to the public or the environment.

A federal pipeline safety office says natural gas leaking from an underwater pipeline in Alaska's Cook Inlet may have started flowing in December.

Gas from the pipeline was spotted bubbling to the surface Feb. 7.

But the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration says a flow analysis indicates it started leaking in late December.

The agency has issued a proposed safety order requiring the line to be repaired by May 1 or shut down.

Hazardous winter conditions including sea ice and strong tides have prevented divers from repairing the leak.

The company estimates 210,000 to 310,000 cubic feet of gas daily is leaking into winter habitat of endangered beluga whales.

Environmental groups contend the gas is a threat to belugas. </s> ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A pipeline spewing natural gas into Alaska's Cook Inlet may have started leaking in December, two months before the leak was spotted from the air, according to a federal pipeline safety office.

The estimate of when gas started leaking into winter habitat for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales was issued in a proposed safety order last week by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration that the agency confirmed on Tuesday.

Processed natural gas continues to leak from a Hilcorp Alaska LLC pipeline that supplies four oil platforms in the inlet south of Anchorage — at a rate estimated by the company of 210,000 to 310,000 cubic feet of gas daily.

However, the company in late January reported that it had detected increased gas flow through the pipeline in January and started looking for a leak, according pipeline safety office's report.

Hilcorp has 30 days to respond. In a statement Tuesday afternoon, company spokeswoman Lori Nelson said the safety of response personnel is the company's top priority. She said Hilcorp is pleased that the proposed safety order recognizes that immediate repair is not viable.

The pipeline is in 80 feet of water. Repairs by divers cannot be made in current winter conditions that include sea ice, severe weather and extreme tides, according to Hilcorp.

Shutting the gas pipeline down is not an option, Hilcorp said. Before the pipeline carried natural gas, it moved crude oil. Without pressure in the line, seawater could enter and allow residual crude oil to leak, the company said.

Hilcorp purchased the pipeline and other oil and gas facilities from XTO Energy, Inc., in September 2015. The 8-inch line also leaked in June and August 2014. The leaks were 42 yards apart about two-thirds of a mile from the current leak. They were repaired with clamps.

XTO Energy concluded that previous leaks were caused by rocks contacting the pipe in locations where the line was not continuously supported by seabed.

Annual side-scan sonar or multi-beam echo-sounder surveys conducted by the company do not detect external loads on the pipe, eroded pipe, rock impingements, metal loss, dings or gouges, the federal pipeline office said. The agency called for creating modifications to the pipe to allow in-line inspections or alternative technologies.

Besides endangered beluga whales, Cook Inlet is home to salmon and other fish. Hilcorp last week said its modeling consultants conclude that only tiny amounts of natural gas likely are dissolving into the water.

The company said Tuesday that based on observations so far, the natural gas release does not pose a threat to the public or the environment.

In a letter Tuesday to the Trump administration, however, seven environmental groups strongly disagreed. They called for the federal pipeline safety office to issue an emergency order shutting down the line. The leak is creating a low-oxygen dead zone that threatens belugas and other wildlife, the groups said.

"This dangerous leak could stop immediately if regulators did their job and shut down this rickety old pipeline," said Miyoko Sakashita of the Center for Biological Diversity. Her group is one of two that have given formal notice that they intend to sue Hilcorp Alaska over the leak. </s> ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A pipeline spewing natural gas into Alaska’s Cook Inlet may have started leaking in December, two months before the leak was spotted from the air, according to a federal pipeline safety office.

The estimate of when gas started leaking into winter habitat for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales was issued in a proposed safety order last week by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration that the agency confirmed on Tuesday.

Processed natural gas continues to leak from a Hilcorp Alaska LLC pipeline that supplies four oil platforms in the inlet south of Anchorage — at a rate estimated by the company of 210,000 to 310,000 cubic feet of gas daily.

A Hilcorp helicopter crew Feb. 7 spotted gas bubbling to the surface about four miles off shore.

However, the company in late January reported that it had detected increased gas flow through the pipeline in January and started looking for a leak, according pipeline safety office’s report.

A subsequent analysis of gas flow indicated the pipeline likely began leaking in December, the agency said.

The agency late Friday issued the proposed safety order requiring the line to be repaired by May 1 or shut down.

Hilcorp has 30 days to respond. Company spokeswoman Lori Nelson in an email said Hilcorp had no immediate comment.

The pipeline is in 80 feet of water. Repairs by divers cannot be made in current winter conditions that include sea ice, severe weather and extreme tides, according to Hilcorp.

The company told the federal pipeline office safe diving operations cannot start until late March at the earliest.

Shutting the gas pipeline down is not an option, Hilcorp said. Before the pipeline carried natural gas, it moved crude oil. Without pressure in the line, seawater could enter and allow residual crude oil to leak, the company said.

Hilcorp purchased the pipeline and other oil and gas facilities from XTO Energy, Inc., in September 2015. The 8-inch line also leaked in June and August 2014. The leaks were 42 yards apart about two-thirds of a mile from the current leak. They were repaired with clamps.

XTO Energy concluded that previous leaks were caused by rocks contacting the pipe in locations where the line was not continuously supported by seabed.

Annual side-scan sonar or multi-beam echo-sounder surveys conducted by the company do not detect external loads on the pipe, eroded pipe, rock impingements, metal loss, dings or gouges, the federal pipeline office said. The agency called for creating modifications to the pipe to allow in-line inspections or alternative technologies.

Besides endangered beluga whales, Cook Inlet is home to salmon and other fish. Hilcorp last week said its modeling consultants conclude that only tiny amounts of natural gas likely are dissolving into the water.

Environmental groups contend the leaking gas is a threat to belugas and their prey. Two environmental groups have given formal notice that they intend to sue Hilcorp Alaska over the leak.

The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which oversees oil and gas drilling and production on state and private lands, last week fined Hilcorp $200,000 for unsafe practices in September 2015 at the Milne Point oil field northwest of Prudhoe Bay.

The commission said the company without authorization used nitrogen to clean a well. The gas entered an enclosed “mud trailer” with three workers inside and “nothing but luck” prevented their deaths, according to the commission.

Hilcorp in a statement said it has taken steps to make sure similar incidents don’t happen in the future. </s> March 2, 2017

 by Dan Joling, The Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—A second environmental group has given formal notice that it will sue the owner of an underwater pipeline spewing natural gas into Alaska’s Cook Inlet.

The inlet is home to endangered beluga whales, salmon and other fish. Gas since at least Feb. 7 has bubbled from an 8-inch pipeline owned by Hilcorp Alaska LLC. The pipeline moves processed natural gas from onshore to four drilling platforms.

The Center for Biological Diversity in a letter to the company and the Environmental Protection Agency said the leaking gas is a threat to belugas. The Tucson, Arizona-based group said Hilcorp is violating four federal laws: the Clean Air and Clean Water acts, the Endangered Species Act and the Pipeline Safety Act. A lawsuit requires a 60-day notice.

“Belugas and their prey are being harmed every day this leak continues,” said Miyoko Sakashita, the group’s oceans program director, in a statement. “We can’t wait another month or more for the sea ice to clear before plugging the leak.”

The leak is about four miles off shore in 80 feet of water. A Hilcorp helicopter crew Feb. 7 spotted gas bubbling to the surface. The company estimates the pipeline is emitting 210,000 to 310,000 cubic feet of gas per day. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration are investigating.

The pipeline formerly moved crude oil. Shutting off gas could allow seawater to infiltrate and possibly allow residual crude oil to leak into the inlet, according to Hilcorp.

Spokeswoman Lori Nelson in a statement said the company has shut down non-essential equipment on production platforms. Divers remain the best option for repairs, she said, but the risk is too great.

“Current ice conditions prevent divers from accessing and repairing the line safely,” she said. “Hilcorp is ready to proceed once ice conditions allow for safe repair operations to begin.”

Cook Inletkeeper, a non-profit dedicated to protecting the Cook Inlet watershed, previously gave 60-day formal notice that it intends to sue Hilcorp under provisions of the Clean Water Act. </s> A leaking gas line in the Cook Inlet does pose safety and environmental risks according to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

A March 3rd Notice of Proposed Safety Order says the underwater pipeline near Nikiski must be repaired or shut down by May 1st.

“PHMSA finds that the continued operation of the Affected Pipeline Facility, without corrective measures, poses a pipeline integrity risk to public safety, property, and the environment,” said the notice.

Hilcorp reported the methane leak to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation on February 7th. The federal agency’s notice says the leak may have started in late December.

“If they didn’t know about it they should have known about it. If you’re going to be out there in the Cook Inlet you should understand how much gas is going into a pipeline and how much gas is coming out of a pipeline,” said Bob Shavelson with Cook Inlet Keeper.

Seven conservation groups called for the gas line to be shut down Tuesday, including: Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, Defenders of Wildlife, Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands, Greenpeace and the Eyak Preservation Council.

“I’m just afraid that more leaks are going to continue if they don’t figure out how to deal with them now,” said Dune Lankard with Center for Biological Diversity.

The federal notice says winter conditions make a repair too dangerous and states Hilcorp is concerned stopping oil production may allow a pipeline carrying crude oil to freeze and leak.

“They really haven’t shown that they have the engineering and technical wherewithal to stop an active leak which is what they should be able to do if they want to do business in Cook Inlet,” said Shavelson.

A Hilcorp spokesperson declined an interview but offered a statement which read:

“Hilcorp, together with state and federal agencies, is actively working to address a natural gas pipeline leak in the Middle Ground Shoal area of Cook Inlet. Based upon observations to date, the release does not pose a threat to the public nor the environment, however ensuring the safety of our response personnel is our top priority as we proceed. We are pleased that PHMSA’s Proposed Safety Order acknowledges this, recognizing that immediate repair is not a viable option due to current conditions and concerns for the safety of personnel. Hilcorp will continue to work with PHMSA and other state and federal agencies to ensure a thorough and timely response. Hilcorp’s focus right now is addressing the natural gas pipeline leak and ensuring the safety of our responders in the field. An investigation into the timing and cause of the leak is currently underway.”

Hilcorp has until March 8th to provide the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation a plan for sampling the air and water and monitoring for wildlife impacts. </s> A Hilcorp helicopter crew Feb. 7 spotted gas bubbling to the surface about four miles off shore.

However, the company in late January reported that it had detected increased gas flow through the pipeline in January and started looking for a leak, according pipeline safety office's report.

A subsequent analysis of gas flow indicated the pipeline likely began leaking in December, the agency said.

The agency late Friday issued the proposed safety order requiring the line to be repaired by May 1 or shut down.

Hilcorp has 30 days to respond. In a statement Tuesday afternoon, company spokeswoman Lori Nelson said the safety of response personnel is the company's top priority. She said Hilcorp is pleased that the proposed safety order recognizes that immediate repair is not viable.

The pipeline is in 80 feet of water. Repairs by divers cannot be made in current winter conditions that include sea ice, severe weather and extreme tides, according to Hilcorp.

The company told the federal pipeline office safe diving operations cannot start until late March at the earliest.

Shutting the gas pipeline down is not an option, Hilcorp said. Before the pipeline carried natural gas, it moved crude oil. Without pressure in the line, seawater could enter and allow residual crude oil to leak, the company said.

Hilcorp purchased the pipeline and other oil and gas facilities from XTO Energy, Inc., in September 2015. The 8-inch line also leaked in June and August 2014. The leaks were 42 yards apart about two-thirds of a mile from the current leak. They were repaired with clamps.

XTO Energy concluded that previous leaks were caused by rocks contacting the pipe in locations where the line was not continuously supported by seabed.

Annual side-scan sonar or multi-beam echo-sounder surveys conducted by the company do not detect external loads on the pipe, eroded pipe, rock impingements, metal loss, dings or gouges, the federal pipeline office said. The agency called for creating modifications to the pipe to allow in-line inspections or alternative technologies.

Besides endangered beluga whales, Cook Inlet is home to salmon and other fish. Hilcorp last week said its modeling consultants conclude that only tiny amounts of natural gas likely are dissolving into the water.

The company said Tuesday that based on observations so far, the natural gas release does not pose a threat to the public or the environment.

In a letter Tuesday to the Trump administration, however, seven environmental groups strongly disagreed. They called for the federal pipeline safety office to issue an emergency order shutting down the line. The leak is creating a low-oxygen dead zone that threatens belugas and other wildlife, the groups said.

"This dangerous leak could stop immediately if regulators did their job and shut down this rickety old pipeline," said Miyoko Sakashita of the Center for Biological Diversity. Her group is one of two that have given formal notice that they intend to sue Hilcorp Alaska over the leak. </s> The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is requiring Hilcorp Energy Company to begin sampling and environmental monitoring of its damaged underwater natural gas pipeline, which has been leaking between 210,000 and 310,000 cubic feet of methane gas per day into Cook Inlet since early February.

In a Feb. 27 letter to Hilcorp Alaska Senior Vice President David Wilkins, Geoff Merrell, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s on-scene coordinator for the leak, gives Hilcorp until March 8 to send his agency a plan to gather data on the environmental effect of the continuing leak.

Hilcorp plans to send a team of divers to repair the leak — spotted by a Hilcorp helicopter on Feb. 7 — though Wilkins previously wrote to Merrell that ice in the Inlet is likely to delay this repair until mid- to late March.

As of Feb. 24, no samples have been taken of the air or water affected by the leak, according to a letter with that date from from National Marine Fisheries Service Alaska Region Administrator James Balsiger to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Because “results of the sampling and monitoring program could necessitate an order to evacuate the line to control the release,” Merrell’s letter also requires Hilcorp to send DEC a plan by March 13 for how it would shut in its wells and deactivate the pipeline, if required to.

The leaking pipeline carries processed natural gas used as fuel by four Hilcorp platforms in the Middle Ground Shoal field, approximately 5 miles off-shore near Nikiski. Hilcorp representatives have previously said that turning off the leaking pipe — thereby cutting off power to the platforms — could release oil into the Inlet if the pipeline, which previously carried crude oil and may still have crude residue inside, floods.

In previous correspondence with DEC, Hilcorp cited a computer simulation of the leak and its environment to “demonstrate the relatively small impact that the release is likely to have on methane concentrations in the water column near the plume,” according to a Feb. 20 reply to Merrell by Wilkins.

The simulation, done for Hilcorp by environmental consulting group SLR International, concluded that 84 percent of the leaked methane will reach the atmosphere, while 17 percent is likely to be dissolved in the water, resulting in a water-methane concentration that Hilcorp’s study concluded would be 1/500th of the minimum methane concentration that DEC states will be harmful to marine life.

Though Merrell wrote that the simulation and other work Hilcorp cited is “helpful,” he stated that it does “not satisfy the need for real-time, on-site empirical data necessary to conduct an impact assessment and prove the veracity of the model.”

The requirements DEC gave Hilcorp include weekly observations for live or dead fish or birds, measurements of dissolved methane, oxygen, and carbon dioxide in the water near the leak, air quality measurements, and monitoring of the leak’s acoustic effects in the Inlet waters, with weekly reports of results to Merrell.

Merrell wrote that “…delay or insufficient work plan preparation or quality may result in Hilcorp being deemed an unresponsive responsible party,” in which case DEC would take over the leak response, with Hilcorp financially liable for their work.

The area of Cook Inlet around the leaking pipe is designated critical habitat for endangered beluga whales by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. According to NOAA’s Balsiger, the Cook Inlet beluga population is estimated to consist of 340 individuals.

“There is a need to understand the environmental impacts, no matter how minor, on the environment of Cook Inlet, and particularly to the food web supporting the beluga whales,” Merrell wrote.

In addition to the possibility of methane displacing oxygen in the water, underwater noise from the leak could be another impact. The acoustic effects could have “implications for Endangered Species Act-listed species and their prey since it could affect feeding and transiting patterns within and beyond this portion of their critical habitat,” Merrell wrote.

Though a Feb. 23 flyover in search of belugas didn’t spot any, according to a DEC statement released Wednesday, the area around the leak is within the belugas’ preferred winter foraging grounds, Balsiger wrote. Harbor porpoise populations also have “a high likelihood of overlap in time and space” with the gas leak. Other marine mammals that may be affected include stellar sea lions, dall porpoise, killer whales, and humpback whales, though these are less likely to be near the leak this time of year, according to Balsiger.

Two conservation groups have threatened legal action against Hilcorp for the leak under the federal Clean Water Act, which allows private parties to sue for violations with 60 day’s notice. Cook Inletkeeper announced its intent to sue Hilcorp on Feb. 15. On Feb. 27, the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity requested that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt also act against Hilcorp, and gave notice of its intent to sue Hilcorp if the EPA does not.

In response to an emailed request for comments, Hilcorp External Affairs Manager Lori Nelson wrote that the company plans to release a statement on Thursday.

Reach Ben Boettger at ben.boettger@peninsulaclarion.com. </s> ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A federal pipeline safety office says natural gas leaking from an underwater pipeline in Alaska’s Cook Inlet may have started flowing in December.

Gas from the pipeline was spotted bubbling to the surface Feb. 7.

But the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration says a flow analysis indicates it started leaking in late December.

The agency has issued a proposed safety order requiring the line to be repaired by May 1 or shut down.

Hazardous winter conditions including sea ice and strong tides have prevented divers from repairing the leak.

The company estimates 210,000 to 310,000 cubic feet of gas daily is leaking into winter habitat of endangered beluga whales.

Environmental groups contend the gas is a threat to belugas.
An investigation by the United States Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration finds that the natural gas leak occurring in Alaska's Cook Inlet began earlier than first reported, and represents significant safety and environmental risks. The agency gives pipeline operator Hilcorp Energy until May 1, 2017 to fix the leak, or shut the pipeline down.