Gorgeous Gulf of Mexico - Today's MODIS Image

Thought we'd share this stunning satellite image of the Gulf, shot today by NASA's MODIS satellite.  Enjoy!

MODIS/Terra satellite image, Gulf of Mexico -  January 27, 2012.  Image courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team.

Brazil Suffers Another Oil Spill - Another Warning Shot For FPSOs?

Brazil just experienced another oil spill, this time close enough to shore that it has fouled a stretch of beach in Rio Grande do Sul.  The spill apparently happened while a tanker was offloading a cargo of oil at the Osorio terminal operated by Petrobras, near the city of Tramandai.

The spill was reported to be about 315 gallons.  Video and photos from the affected beaches show one hell of a mess.  I guess a little really goes a long way when it comes to an oil spill:

This spill is reminiscent of Shell's recent spill off Nigeria caused when oil leaked from a cracked transfer line between an FPSO and a shuttle tanker. It's possible this Petrobras spill happened at the other end of an FPSO operation, where the shuttle tanker was offloading its cargo to a coastal facility. This is a concern, since FPSOs are now being used in US waters in the Gulf of Mexico for deepwater oil development -- and Petrobras, the world leader in FPSOs, has already had a serious failure at the first FPSO installation under construction in the Gulf.

Oil slick from spill that occurred at an offshore terminal near Tramandai, Brazil on January 26, 2012.  Photo courtesy World Maritime News.

[More images and analysis after the jump...]

Drilling to Begin Soon in Deep Water Off Cuba

Say hello to my little friend:  Scarabeo-9 arrives to begin deepwater drilling off Cuba.  Photo courtesy Shipspotting.com.

The Scarabeo-9, a big semisubmersible drill rig owned by Italian company ENI, just built in China, and currently under contract to the Spanish oil company Repsol, has arrived in the Florida Straits off the north coast of Cuba to begin exploratory oil drilling.  The rig will begin its work in exploration block N27 (see map after the jump) just 90 miles from Key West, in water about 6,500' deep.  That's 1,500' deeper than the site of the BP / Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf in 2010. 

[More after the jump...]

Chevron Blowout and Rig Fire off Nigeria - Small Slick Visible on Radar Today

The K.S. Endeavor jackup drill rig operated for Chevron in shallow water about 5 miles off the coast of the Niger Delta is continuing to burn.  This blowout probably won't be under control until a relief well can be drilled. Chevron confirms the rig had been drilling a gas exploration well they call the Funiwa Deep-A, with a planned depth of 16,500 feet.  But the well had only reached a depth of 12,945' when the blowout occurred early Monday morning.  That's comparable to the depth of BP's Macondo well that blew out in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, launching what would become the world's worst accidental oil spill.

The Funiwa field has both oil and gas reservoirs.  A big question on everyone's mind:  Could this lead to a major oil spill?  Is there a lot of oil already coming out of the well right now, fueling this blowtorch of a fire?  Some have reported sighting slicks and sheen in the vicinity.

Satellite imagery gives us some reason for optimism so far.  This Envisat ASAR radar satellite image taken today shows only a very small slick around what we infer to be the location of the burning Endeavor, based on multiple observations of the fire itself on MODIS 7-2-1 satellite images and the bright spots on the radar image that indicate big hunks of metal out in the water (rigs, vessels, platforms):

Detail from Envisat ASAR image taken January 20, 2012 showing small slicks in vicinity of burning K.S. Endeavor drill rig.  Inferred location of rig shown. Large dark patches along the coast are probably caused by turbid river water entering the ocean.  Image courtesy European Space Agency.

[More images and analysis after the jump...]

Media Highlights - 2011

Check out SkyTruth's media page for the link to our Media Highlights - 2011 page. The page contains a list of all of SkyTruth's major media hits from 2011, from the Op-Ed piece in the Huffington Post that John co-wrote with Dr. Ian MacDonald of Florida State University, to the Los Angeles Times blog announcing the launch of our SkyTruth Alerts System.

You can also read the Associate Press interview with John about the size of the Shell oil spill off the coast of Nigeria. That story was carried in several major media outlets like The Guardian and the New York Times. You can also find the radio interview as well as the television interview with WV Public Broadcasting, and many more media hits so what are you waiting for? Go have a look!

Blowout off Nigeria?

Given the sustained intensity of the fire on the K.S. Endeavor  drill rig that ignited off the coast of Nigeria yesterday morning, we're starting to think a total loss of well control occurred.

Yep, that would be a blowout.  Two workers are still missing.

We assume the rig was drilling Chevron's "Funiwa Deep" natural gas exploration well. Since gas was the target, we hope that means the risk of a major oil spill is low.

What's next? The rig will probably collapse soon from the intense sustained heat. It's possible that will extinguish the fire, although the natural gas and/or gas condensate release will continue to pose a serious fire/explosion hazard until Chevron can plug the leaking well. They'll have to bring in another rig to drill a relief well. 

Depressingly familiar? You bet.  See the Montara blowout off Australia in 2009, and BP blowout in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, for two of the more spectacular drilling failures in recent years.

Satellite Image Shows Heat From Chevron Drill Rig Fire, Offshore Nigeria

K.S. Endeavor jackup drilling rig burning off Nigeria's coast on January 16, 2012. Photo courtesy Chevron.

We've been following reports of a drill rig on fire off the coast of Nigeria, working for Chevron in the Funiwa field. We've also been collecting satellite imagery of the site.  Yesterday's MODIS images had a big data gap right over this area, so we didn't get a chance to see this until today. Here's what it looked like this morning from space, captured by NASA's MODIS sensor on the Terra satellite.  Clouds and haze, all too common in this part of Africa, obscure most of the area, and there is little sign of a big problem down below in the standard "true color" rendering:

MODIS/Terra true-color satellite image of Niger Delta region, January 17, 2012.  Clouds and haze obscure much of the area.

But let's look again, this time with the 7-2-1 rendering that includes the mid-infrared wavelengths.  There is a bright red dot located approximately where we think the rig was working (we could use a more precise location if anyone has it):

MODIS/Terra 7-2-1 infrared composite of Niger Delta region, January 17, 2012. Clouds and haze are minimized, and the burning rig appears as a bright red spot just offshore along the curve in the Delta coastline.

[See zoomed-in images after the jump...]