A pipeline operated by gas company Perenco leaked approximately 200 barrels of reservoir fluid, including oil, into Poole Harbour in Dorset, prompting a major incident declaration, according to Poole Harbour Commissioners (PHC). The oil field and processing facility, Wytch Farm, is responsible for the leak and produces around 14,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The leak occurred on Sunday under Owers Bay, but Perenco said the situation was “under control” and a clean-up operation was underway. PHC has advised the public not to swim in the area until further notice and urged anyone who ca ..read more

The Keystone pipeline in the US has been shut after more than 14,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into a creek in Kansas. The pipeline transfers crude oil from Canada to Texas, US. The operator of the pipeline said it responded after alarms and a detected pressure drop in the system and isolated the affected segment. In a statement, TC Energy said: “Our primary focus right now is the health and safety of onsite staff and personnel, the surrounding community and mitigating risk to the environment. “We immediately activated our emergency response procedures and we have established environmental ..read more

Eni UK has confirmed that almost 500 barrels of oil leaked from a pipe into the Irish Sea off North Wales. The pipe runs between two platforms named Conwy and Douglas and was “immediately shut off”. In a statement, the company said: “Eni UK Ltd confirms that a limited hydrocarbons release of less than 500 barrels occurred on Monday 14th February from its pipeline between the Conwy and Douglas Installations, approximately 33 km from the North Wales coast. “Details of the incident are still being confirmed. The Conwy to Douglas line was shut immediately and remains off.” Energy Minister Greg Han ..read more

The United Nations has launched a crowdfunding campaign to stop an anchored tanker spilling more than one million barrels of oil into the Red Sea. The FSO Safer is moored a few miles off the Yemen coast but is reportedly now beyond repair – with the UN stating there are realistic fears of it exploding or collapsing. It is one of the largest tankers in the world, at 376 metres in length. The vessel has been anchored off the coast of Yemen for three decades but the escalation of conflict in the nation has meant that its use and maintenance has stalled since 2015. The UN is looking to urgently ra ..read more

The Government of Canada is seeking innovators who can develop rapidly deployable solutions to detect oil spills and help boost oil spill recovery rates. It has launched a CAD$10 million (£6m) Impact Canada Oil Spill Response Challenge, which will assess technologies through two streams: detection, to improve data availability and accuracy to inform oil spill response measures; and recovery, to clean up spills in aquatic environments and expedite environmental recovery. A review committee will select 10 semi-finalists who will each receive up to CAD$300,000 (£180,473) to develop prototypes, ou ..read more

The Government of Mauritius declared a state of climate emergency as coastal areas face an ecological disaster after a 1,000-tonne oil spill. The MV Wakashio tanker, believed to have been carrying 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil, ran aground on a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island on 25th July. Mitsui OSK Lines, the operator of the ship said: “The cause of the incident will be fully investigated and the owner/manager will continue to work closely with the authorities to determine the cause. “MOL is fully aware of the incident and the regretful harm to the beautiful nature in Mauritius.” The incid ..read more

Italian energy major Eni has declared force majeure on an oil pipeline in Nigeria following a blast. The incident occurred on the Ogoda/Brass 24″ oil pipeline at Okparatubo in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The event caused a spill, the company said. Eni said all wells linked to that pipeline were immediately shut down and local authorities were notified about the incident at the pipeline. It added: “Deferred production is estimated at 25,000 barrels per day and about one million standard cubic feet per day of gas.” In the most recent statement, the company said: “Repai ..read more

This year’s May was the warmest on record, with the most above-average temperatures recorded in parts of Siberia, where they were up to 10°C higher than usual. That’s according to the latest report by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), which suggests the Siberian heatwave didn’t occur only in May, but during the whole of winter and spring. The area seemed to have repeated periods of higher-than-average surface air temperatures, particularly from January onwards. Media reports about the break-up of ice in Siberian’s rivers and the area’s massive diesel spill, which is thought to have ..read more

Around 4,000 tonnes of hair waste is generated by hairdressing salons every year in France. Could the recycling of these seemingly useless offcuts save the planet? James Taylor, Co-Founder of the French startup Capillum, says yes – speaking to ELN about an innovative technology which utilises keratin from the wasted hair in the service of the environment, he said: “We recycle leftover hair. Human hair contains keratin, a protein that absorbs oil and this can be used to clean up the environment. By recycling hair we also try to reduce waste. “Keratin can also replace plastics in agriculture and ..read more

The UK has warned of a “catastrophic environmental threat” from a rusting oil tanker located off Yemen’s Red Sea coast. It has called on the Houthis in Yemen to give UN experts access to the FSO SAFER oil tanker – which has 1.14 million barrels of crude oil on board – to assess its condition, conduct any possible urgent repairs and make recommendations for the safe extraction of the oil. The government warns its poor condition means it could cause an oil spill four times larger than the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989, which involved 257,000 barrels of oil and the effects of which are still bein ..read more