Pipeline Spills Up to 390,000 Gallons of Oil into Gulf of Mexico - Oceana USA

Pipeline Spills Up to 390,000 Gallons of Oil into Gulf of Mexico

Press Release Date: October 17, 2017

Location: Washington, D.C.

Contact:

Dustin Cranor, APR | email: dcranor@oceana.org | tel: 954.348.1314

 

Following reports from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) that a pipe owned by LLOG Exploration Offshore LLC has spilled up to 390,000 gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, Oceana released the following statement from campaign director Diane Hoskins:

“We are alarmed, yet not surprised, to learn of another oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Offshore drilling is dirty and dangerous, and results in oil spills, over and over. How many times do we need to be reminded that offshore drilling leads to spilling?

As we watch this latest disaster unfold in the Gulf, it is important to remember that the federal government is rushing to expand offshore drilling activities to the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans, as well as the eastern Gulf of Mexico. It is incomprehensible why the president would direct his administration to speed up the process and increase opportunities for more drilling-related disasters.

There is absolutely no reason to put more coastal communities at risk. We are currently experiencing gas prices near historic lows and producing more oil than we import. The bipartisan opposition to offshore drilling is growing in numbers and intensity. It is time to move toward a safer and cleaner energy future.

One hundred thirty municipalities, 1,200 bipartisan elected officials and 41,000 coastal businesses relying on healthy oceans have already publicly opposed offshore drilling — it is time for the oil and gas industry to see the writing on the wall. Expanded offshore drilling will never produce enough oil to offset the risk of its devastating consequences.

It is time to break the never-ending cycle of drill, spill, repeat. Coastal communities have clearly demanded their fishing and tourism economies be protected from oil and gas production. The president should listen to the coastal communities that have the most to lose from these disasters and stop attempts to encourage more offshore drilling.”