The largest oil and gas producer in Cook Inlet has shut down production at two of its platforms after discovering an oil spill.
Hilcorp reported the spill to the state at noon on Saturday after employees on the company's Anna platform said they felt an impact. When workers looked over the side of the platform to figure out what was going on, they saw bubbles near one of the platform legs and a sheen on the water.
"And at that time, they shut the wells in on both platforms to stop the flow of oil and reduced the pressure in the line," said Kristin Ryan, who directs the state's division of spill prevention and response.
She said the company flew over the area and saw six sheens on the water. One had migrated more than three miles from the Anna platform.
The spill is on the west side of the Inlet, near Tyonek. It's coming from an underwater pipeline that was carrying its full capacity of about 19,000 gallons of crude when the leak was discovered.
Hilcorp shut down oil production on both its Anna and Bruce platforms which are connected by the pipeline. The company has also called its spill response contractor for help.
According to a state situation report, the oil spill response vessel Perseverance got to the platform shortly after the spill was discovered.
The company is attempting to send a mobile, mechanical foam pig down the line.
"Which is sort of like a squeegee that is going to push the oil through the line, past the point we believe the leak is occurring. And at that point, the leak would cease completely," said Ryan.
Ryan said the pig has made it past the spot where the company thinks the leak is coming from. It’s pushing the remaining oil into a holding tank on the Bruce platform. From there, the company can estimate the amount of oil it recovered and tell state regulators just how much ended up in the water.
The oil spill is another blow for the Houston-based company that just last week agreed to shut down oil production on two other platforms in Cook Inlet to slow a leak from an underwater natural gas line.
The company has delayed repairing that line, saying the sea ice is too thick to safely send divers down to fix the leak.
That same sea ice, along with Cook Inlet weather, could pose problems for repairing the oil leak as well.
Ryan said the state was not able to get an inspector out to the platform until mid-morning Sunday because the flight was weathered in. Also, Cook Inlet's powerful tides are carrying a lot of wide sheets of sea ice right now.
"So it's big, flat, kind of pancake-looking ice and it's just moved very easily. It's just floating on the surface and the currents move it around very quickly," said Ryan.
The company told the state it’s hired a diving contractor to investigate the line and repair it, but that isn't expected to happen until later in the week.
Hilcorp has had a troubled history in Alaska with dozens of regulatory enforcement actions with various state agencies.
But, Ryan noted having multiple leaking lines in Cook Inlet could be a byproduct of the company's business model, not necessarily an indicator that they're operating irresponsibly.
"Hilcorp owns a lot of infrastructure that's old. That is part of their, you know, business model. They come in and they purchase old infrastructure and they keep it working. So, it's not completely surprising that they've had more failures than other operators," she said.
Ryan added the company has been responsive to her department when it comes to fixing those issues.
When contacted, Hilcorp spokesperson Lori Nelson said the company is too busy responding to the spill to answer questions about the incident.
The company's leaking gas pipeline and the oil spill are drawing concern from environmental groups and state and federal agencies.
Bob Shavelson is the director of advocacy for Cook Inletkeeper. The environmental group sent notice to Hilcorp in mid-February, telling the company that the group plans to sue under the federal Clean Water Act.
Shavelson said his group plans to fly over the site of the recent spill to assess the magnitude of the problem and added he thinks the company should shut down and inspect all of its Cook Inlet infrastructure.
"Well, I think we have a systemic problem across Cook Inlet," he said. "You've got these antiquated pipelines and you've got an operator here that routinely cuts corners and that's a recipe for problems down the road."
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker met privately with the company last week to talk about its ongoing natural gas leak. The company agreed to shut down production on the two oil platforms powered by that line.
On Sunday, Walker's office issued a press release saying the governor is deeply concerned about the potential impact on Cook Inlet's wildlife.
There are dozens of species of fish, birds and marine mammals likely to be in that area of the inlet this time of year, including endangered beluga whales, Steller sea lions and humpback whales.
State and federal fish and wildlife experts are monitoring the spill. Ryan said there have been no animals observed in the areas where the oil spill sheens were spotted.