GALVESTON, Texas – For at least two weeks, natural gas condensate has been spilling into the Gulf of Mexico just off the coast of Galveston. There’s no end in sight.
Word of the spill started spreading on social media after local fisherman spotted the oil sheen in the water, roughly 12 miles directly out from Crystal Beach on Bolivar Peninsula.
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When KPRC 2 took a boat ride out to visit the platform last Friday, we saw the spill still flowing.
Then the Texas General Land Office told KPRC 2′s Gage Goulding that the leak was natural gas condensate coming from a flowline riser at the rig.
In the days that followed our original report, we’ve been asking state agencies, who oversee these types of rigs, for the owner and what’s being done to stop the spill, which is now being picked up by NOAA satellites.
Both the Texas General Land Office and Texas Railroad Commission have yet to give us any more information other than work is ongoing.
“GLO stop the leak now. Search for those responsible later,” KPRC 2 Insider Rider commented.
We asked those questions, but were met with little response.
QUESTIONS ASKED TO TEXAS GENERAL LAND OFFICE AND TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSION:
- Can you confirm the owner of the rig?
- Texas GLO: “At this time, the TGLO cannot confirm the owner of the rig.”
- Is the leak determined to be the responsibility of the rig?
- Texas GLO: “We have not determined the source of the leak; the source is still under investigation.”
- What is the status of reaching the owner?
- Texas GLO: “At this time, the TGLO cannot confirm the owner of the rig.”
- Have they responded with when they’ll repair and mitigate?
- Texas GLO: “At this time, the TGLO cannot confirm the owner of the rig.”
- If not, will/when taxpayer dollars be used to complete the repairs and cleanup?
- Texas GLO: “At this time, the TGLO cannot confirm the owner of the rig.”
- Can you provide an update on the environmental impact?
- Texas GLO: “At this time, we have not determined any environmental impact.”
We sent the same questions to the Texas Railroad Commission. They responded with the following response before directing any other questions to the U.S. Coast Guard:
“The RRC has jurisdiction over the well on the platform. Following an inspection last week of the High Island well there were no leaks seen coming from the well head. The RRC continues to assist the Coast Guard and the General Land Office in their assessment of the platform.”
So, Who Owns The Rig?
For help finding that answer, we turn to Mile Roden, the Vice President of Operations at 40Geo, a Houston company that tracks all things moving related to oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico.
According to his database, which is cross-referenced with state and federal databases, the current owner of the rig is a company called Gulf Coast Operations, LLC.
“That’s the last ones they have on record,” Roden said.
The company doesn’t have a website, just an address to an office building in the Dallas area.
Records show that the rig now spilling natural gas condensate into the Gulf was officially abandoned in 2017.
There’s a formal process that takes place before the rig if supposed to be torn down.
“They are what they called plugged in, abandoned, where they actually plug the well at the sub-sea level onto the seafloor,” Roden explained.
KPRC 2′s Gage Goulding called the office for Gulf Shore Operations, LLC.
The receptionist there says they house “many” different businesses here. She couldn’t confirm if the company is still active, but says people work for Gulf Coast Operations, LLC in the building.
We’re still waiting on a call back.
But Wait, There’s More
The natural gas that was being produced at one point has to go somewhere, right?
State and federal databases say the rig is connected to the Transco pipeline.
That pipeline is owned by the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC, which is owned by Houston’s very own Williams Companies.
Records show the pipeline was also abandoned in 2017.
“From everything we can tell, that would be correct,” Roden said.
Stopping The Leak
The big question: How do they stop the leak?
The Texas General Land Office, Texas Railroad Commission and U.S. Coast Guard all have their hands in the investigation.
According to the Railroad Commission, the issue is with the rig, not the pipeline.
However, to muddy the water, the rig’s five-year lease to Gulf Coast Operations, LLC ended in April 2023, according to the latest filing with the state.
“Sometimes those companies have gone under. They’re not even in existence anymore,” Roden said. “That the buck can pass over to somebody else, including tax payers like ourselves, that actually go out and take care of some of these things based on the complexities of leasing these type of areas.”
KPRC 2 asked for comment from Gulf Coast Operations, LLC and Williams Companies. Neither responded to our inquiry.
An investigation by the Texas General Land Office, Texas Railroad Commission and U.S. Coast Guard remains ongoing. There’s no timeline on stopping the spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
