Dillon Platform Pipeline Assessment

Location: Central Cook Inlet between the Dillon Platform and the East Foreland area of the Kenai Peninsula.
Time/Date: August 21, 2006 at 10:35 AM
Spill Id: 06239923301
Product/ Quantity: Approximately 1 ounce (0.008 gallons) of crude oil was observed on the water surface.
Cause: Union Oil Company of California is in the process of performing a competency investigation of the Platform Dillon “C” 8-inch oil pipeline. Repairs are being made to the pipeline so that it can be cleaned to meet abandonment standards. Platform Dillon is presently classified as ‘lighthouse caretaker’ status. In 1999, the pipeline had been identified as ‘out-of-service’ by a previous operator. As such the line is subject to the abandonment process. The competency investigation process requires the pressurization of the pipeline with air to evaluate the line’s structural integrity. As the pipeline was pressurized, two breaks were discovered through observations of bubbles on the water surface. Light and broken silver oil sheen was briefly spotted on the surface around the bubbles from the pipeline air discharge. An ADEC spill responder was aboard the vessel during the field observations of the oil discharge.