Refugio oil spill
| Refugio oil spill | |
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Crude oil washes up on Refugio State Beach
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| Location | Refugio State Beach near Santa Barbara, California |
| Coordinates | 34°27′44.5″N 120°5′12.8″W / 34.462361°N 120.086889°WCoordinates: 34°27′44.5″N 120°5′12.8″W / 34.462361°N 120.086889°W |
| Date | 19 May 2015 |
| Cause | Ruptured pipeline |
| Operator | Plains All American Pipeline |
| Volume | 105,000 U.S. gallons (2,500 barrels) |
| Shoreline impacted | 7 miles (11 km) coated with crude oil; tar balls damaged beaches more than 100 miles (160 km) down the coast |
The Refugio oil spill on May 19, 2015 deposited 142,800 U.S. gallons (3,400 barrels) of crude oil onto one of the most biologically diverse coastlines of the west coast. The corroded pipeline blamed for the spill has been closed indefinitely, resulting in financial impacts to the county estimated as high as $74 million if it and a related pipeline remain out of service for three years. The cost of the cleanup was estimated by the company to be $96 million with overall expenses including expected legal claims and potential settlements to be around $257 million.
The oil spill, located immediately north of Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County, California, originated in a 2 feet (61 cm) diameter underground pipeline named Line 901 owned by Plains All American Pipeline. Crude oil produced by offshore platforms was transported from onshore receiving plants to another pipeline that transported the oil inland for processing. The oil pipeline operators in Midland, Texas had turned off an alarm that would have notified them of the leak as they were dealing with a separate problem with a pump. The 28 year old pipeline was not equipped with an automatic shut-off valve and was eventually shut down by control operators when they were notified of the leak from parties who visually located the spill.
Hundreds of animals along the coast were coated with the thick crude oil and many died. State parks and beaches located along the coastline were temporarily closed. While much smaller than the oil rig blowout that resulted in the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, this spill may have greater long term effects due to its potential impact on four state marine protected areas. Due to the unique characteristics of the area, it is one of the most studied marine environments in the United States.
The area was one of the earliest locations in California developed for offshore oil and gas production. Crude oil and natural gas produced by offshore platforms is processed at onshore receiving plants before being transported to distant refineries. The source of the spill was Line 901, a 10.6-mile pipeline (17.1 km) owned by Plains All American Pipeline. The 24-inch buried line (610 mm) was constructed in 1987 along the Gaviota coast to service the crude oil produced by offshore drilling. The pipeline can transport 2,000,000 U.S. gallons (48,000 barrels) a day and the contents are heated to as high as 120 °F (49 °C). Santa Barbara area pipelines are typically not heated but they are insulated to retain the oil's heat during transit. The viscous oil is also blended with natural gas liquids to allow it to flow more readily through the pipeline. Truck transportation of oil was phased out in Santa Barbara County in the 1970s because pipelines were considered a safer option.
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