On Friday, Jan. 23, an Alaskan oil rig carrying more than 4,000 gallons of oil overturned near the small town of Nuiqsut. A crew with Doyon Drilling, operating on behalf of ConocoPhillips, was moving Rig 26 — dubbed “The Beast” because it’s one of the largest mobile oil rigs in the U.S. — over a gravel road when it overturned.
According to ConocoPhillips, the two people on board and six emergency responders were all treated at nearby medical facilities and then released. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) stated that oil levels had been measured approximately 30 minutes before the fall, and stood at around 4,000 gallons of diesel.
“Evidence of a diesel spill has been confirmed by emergency responders; however, further assessments are in progress,” the DEC said.
Officials confirmed there is no ongoing leak. The DEC is investigating, but in an early report, noted that “structural hazards continue to limit access.”
Alaskan Oil Rig Overturns
The incident took place about 6.5 miles from Nuiqsut, a small town of approximately 500 people, on the Northern Slope of the state. Local authorities are actively investigating the incident.
According to ConocoPhillips, after the incident, the two people on board and six emergency responders were all treated at nearby medical facilities and then released.
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy took to social media to reassure residents in the wake of the accident. “There was a small fire, but so far appears to be no injuries, minimal damage to the environment and no impact to oil infrastructure or facilities,” Dunleavy posted on Facebook.
Possible Effects
ConocoPhillips confirmed there was no risk to existing oil or gas infrastructure, and Josiah A. Patkota, mayor of North Borough, the municipality that includes Nuiqsut, said there was no threat to the residents of Nuiqsut. Potential effects on wildlife are unclear.
“Based on available maps, the site is less than 500 feet of a tributary to the Nechelik Channel of the Colville River,” the DEC said. “The spill area lies within critical habitat for denning and non-denning polar bears and habitat for caribou, Arctic fox, muskox, and ptarmigan, but no impacts to wildlife have been reported.”
In an email to GJ, the DEC stated, “The whole Incident Management Team is actively working to minimize the environmental impact.”
Why It Matters
This accident occurred amid ongoing legal action against ConocoPhillips. On Dec. 11, nonprofit and Indigenous activist groups filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Alaska against the oil company and the Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to stop drilling in the Western Arctic.
The Center of Biological Diversity, Earthjustice, and the Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic hope to stop ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project, a plan to set up 250 oil wells in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve that includes Rig 26.
According to ConocoPhillips, the project will produce at least $8 billion in new revenue and, at its peak, lead to the production of 180,000 barrels of oil per day.
In a press release from the Center for Biological Diversity, opponents claim that the Willow Project “pushes industrialization west and south into undeveloped and fragile ecosystems, including parts of the Colville River and Teshekpuk Lake Special Areas — specially designated areas that contain significant subsistence, fish and wildlife, historical and scenic values.”
They claim that the Bureau of Land Management did not adequately address and prevent potential harm from the drilling before approving the plan.
What Happens Now
After the oil rig fell and spilled, Brandi Sellepack, the Exploration Manager for ConocoPhillips, filed a legal affidavit on Monday, Jan. 26, in the case, saying that the incident would not change its approach or timeline with the Willow Project.
“After assessing the impact of the unfortunate loss of Doyon 26, ConocoPhillips’s current plan is to proceed with the full four-well exploration drilling program utilizing a substitute drilling rig, Doyon 142, which is capable of completing all of the planned drilling scope that Doyon 26 was scheduled to complete,” she said.
In an email to GJ, Earthjustice attorney Ian Dooley stated, “This incident highlights the concerns we raised in litigation about the rushed approval process for the exploration program and the significant risks it poses to the environment and subsistence and cultural resources.”
“This toppled rig narrowly missed what appears to be a pipeline and caused potentially thousands of gallons of diesel to spill near a tributary to the Colville River. There should be a full accounting of the cause and impacts of this incident.”
