The
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission issued a Notice of
Proposed Enforcement Action on August 20, 2010 stating
Pioneer
Natural Resources Alaska engaged in improper fluid injection in
Oooguruk
Unit enhanced recovery well ODSK-38 (Oooguruk ODSK-38). The
Commission proposed
specific corrective actions and a $10,000 civil
penalty under state law.
This is not the end of this story!
I was the
individual that brought this criminal activity to the authorities
attention, as when I was employed by PNR at the Oooguruk oil
development project, there appeared a lazare-faire attitude towards
environmental stewardship. So after the company CEO denied my
allegations, I produced “proof” that indicated some illegal
injection was attempted. But here it is in a nutshell. Even though
the “Operator Logbook” was testament that a superior wanted to
get rid of the unsellable glycol used during start-up - due the fact
it was contaminated - my biggest concern when I did bring forward
this illegal disposal to the state authorities and the EPA was the
fact that the engineering staff would have been able to convince the
authorities that even though the “logbook” indicated a desire to
get rid of the stuff, it was an ill-fated mission - due the mechanics
of pumping against a deadhead. And that was the case, as the pumps
utilized during this scam recycling attempt were inferior, the
kind you find at Home Depot and could not produce enough
head-pressure to overcome the head-pressure already in the pipelines
going over to the island, where it could be injected down into the
reservoirs. So the mystery remains, what happened to all that glycol?
Once again said, the glycol dumping incident in which Pioneer was
fined, all 40000 gallons, it did not make it down-hole wherein it
would be somewhat safe while captured in the oil pools. So where did
the glycol escape? If it were allowed to enter the environment, then
with spring breakup it could easily find a convenient run-off into
the pristine waters of the Colville River delta, into Harrison Bay,
wherein the ecosystem thrives – glycol could be devastating to the
livelihood of the delta and upon all species that rely on the food
chain, especially seals. And that would have been the summer of 2010,
when the following spring the seal deaths started to alarm the local
hunters. See, glycol is considered safe because it breaks down to
harmless constituents under normal temperatures associated with
disassociation, but we do not find that kind of degradation here in
Alaska. So any glycol haphazardly released, instead of being rendered
harmless, it keeps on its destructive path, contaminating the
ecosystem. I believe that the seal deaths are in part a contribution
from the “missing” 40000 gallons of glycol let loose at the
Pioneer Oooguruk site due crummy management and a total disregard for
the environment, with the sentiment that nobody is really looking. In
the below picture, this “yellow” free snow zone area is right
under the tanks that held thousands of gallons of glycol. Only
leaking glycol could cause the snows to disappear when temperatures
were in the minus regime. This land based tank farm that held all
kinds of nasty chemicals but not under any regulatory jurisdiction
was a “Love Canal” just waiting to happen. Wherein the discharge
vales on these huge tanks were not protected, and a slight nudge
could release a torrent of glycol, it would go unaccounted for until
such time we find the seals dieing off and the researchers puzzled as
too why! And when the protective barrier finds no oversight and large
holes are allowed, we end up with a cesspool mentality and then it is
too late, as it accounts for a scorched earth. More to come.....
Scorched Earth....OTP Spring 2010
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