EVERYTHING IS UNDER CONTROL.....RIGHT!

EVERYTHING IS UNDER CONTROL.....RIGHT! (Frazer Chronicles)

The oil has spread 15 miles beyond the leak, "that's only 5 miles further then we figured," things are completely under control. Sounds kind of familiar doesn't it, kinda like the British Petroleum rhetoric from the Gulf of Mexico, or the Exxon Valdez spill at Price William Sound,  Alaska. A leaking pipeline at the bottom of the Yellowstone River below Yellowstone National Park, is either shut off, or will be within a day or two. 

The Yellowstone spill is just another chapter in the continuing saga of what has become almost a monthly story of how oil producing company's in their break-neck race to supply customers with all sorts of products from crude oil. As they say, "the push is on," and has been on for the past 30 or so years, with the oil industries understanding that an alternative source of  power is on the horizon.

This time the ExxonMobil Pipeline Company (EMPCo) and it's affiliates, which are responsible  for transporting 3.5 million barrels per day of crude oil, refined petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gasses, natural gas liquids and chemical feedstock through more then 8000 miles of pipeline in 23 states, the  Gulf of Mexico and Canada, is on the hook.

The same pipeline was  temporarily shut down in May because of concerns about raising water and regulators twice in the last year warned Exxon Mobil of several safety violations along the line. Exxon Mobil has 6 other refineries in the United States besides the Billings facility.

There seems to be some confusion as to exactly when the pipeline in question, under the Yellowstone River sprung a leak. I have been told Friday night, or sometime Saturday or Sunday. At the present time, I can't nail down the exact date, and I'm guessing neither can anybody else. A continuing theme connected with the oil industry is the scenario concerning the amount of crude that has leaked, and it's no different with  the Yellowstone River accident. Estimates place as much as a 1000 barrels, about 42,000 gallons, before the pipeline was turned off.

ExxonMobil Pipeline Company President Gary Pruessing pledged to "do whatever is necessary" to find and "mop up" spilled crude from the 12" pipeline that broke at the bottom of the Yellowstone River  in Laurel, a suburb of Billings, Montana,  where the refinery is located.

Cause of the spill has not been determined, but officials have speculated that surging waters may have disrupted the river bottom, causing the pipeline to be exposed and damaged by the ravages of the water which is wildly flowing down the river.

According to Pruessing, "aircraft are being used to assess damage," but the flooding river prevents crews from venturing out in boats or walking on the banks of the river in some areas for a closer look. Pruessing further stated that "when the water recedes, a closer look will happen."

I'm not sure how aircraft can be used, "at the present time," to asses any sort of damage. There is a pipeline that is broken, underneath at least 40' of water, and even the shoreline can't be walked because of the turbulent water flow. The spill, according to Exxon Mobil early Monday was little more then 10 miles, but allegations from federal and state officials place a much grimmer picture. 

Political pressure brought to bear stopped the downplaying of the size of the disaster by Exxon Mobil officials who acknowledged that a much wider and longer area may be damaged. Pruessing said as many as 280 people were involved with cleanup.  

As with almost every accident of this type, information is confusing and is hard to weed out. It seems that every petroleum industry accident has conflicting, or misinformation, statements made, then corrected by those oil executives that should know what is going on, but don't seem to.....or maybe they do, and won't say.

One thing is plain to see, ExxonMobil Pipeline Company might think seriously about not putting anymore pipelines under rivers, especially when a mountain snow pack runoff is involved. ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, with it's thousands of miles of pipe and it's affiliates would be hard pressed to furnish safety records for all of it's pipelines.

The pipeline in question is just 20 years old and in an area of the Yellowstone River that can become violent during either heavy rain or mountain snow runoff. This spring the area received a double whammy with heavy rainfall and a heavy snow in the mountains. If ever there was a reason to find some other avenue for a pipeline system, this was probably it.