Photo: Oscar Garcia-Pineda

Fourteen years ago, Hurricane Ivan destroyed an oil-production platform owned by Taylor Energy in the Gulf of Mexico. The wells associated with the platform have been leaking ever since and may soon become the largest recorded offshore spill.  Federal officials estimate that the spill, if not addressed, could continue through the end of this century. Now, the Washington Post is reporting that the US Coast Guard has ordered Taylor Energy Company to contain and clean up the spill, or face fines of $40,000 per day.

Up to 700 barrels of oil per day have leaked from Taylor Energy’s former site 12 miles off the coast of Louisiana since the platform was destroyed during Hurricane Ivan in 2004, according to an analysis issued by the Justice Department. Based on reports from contractors hired by Taylor Energy, the government had previously estimated that the spill amounted to zero to 55 barrels per day. The spill, so far, is estimated to range between 1.5 million barrels and up to 3.5 million barrels. That would rival the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, the largest offshore spill in the nation’s history, which spilled 4 million barrels of oil into gulf waters.

Until recently, the Taylor Energy spill is largely unknown outside Louisiana because of the company’s effort to keep it secret. Taylor Energy has denied the validity of the DOJ study and claims that the actions called for by the Coast Guard will make matters worse. So far, the oil production company has proved more adept at downplaying the spill than at remedying it. 

As oil continues to spoil the Gulf, the Trump administration is proposing the largest expansion of leases for the oil and gas industry, with the potential to open nearly the entire outer continental shelf to offshore drilling.