Five mile no-go-zone around ruptured gas well

THE Maritime Services division of the Ministry of Works and Transport has placed a five mile demarcation zone around a ruptured gas line which began spewing a mix of gas and mud into the Gulf of Paria.

Fishing boats and other ocean-going vessels have been advised to avoid the site which became active almost one week ago. In a telephone interview yesterday, EMA managing director Hayden Romano said no oil was being emitted from the ruptured well as this time.

“It is not a good situation but there is no oil being spilled at this time. The maritime services division which is the agency responsible for putting out notices for dangerous incidents to the marine environment, they did put out a notice and they were limiting vessels in a five mile radius.”

He said the well was very old and formed part of the nation’s aging gas infrastructure which was being looked at by several state agencies including the Ministry of Energy and the EMA.

Asked about the possibility of contamination, he said, “We are not sure about any contamination at this point in time. The ministry of energy, they have their people out there. They are looking at it, they are trying to get the situation under control in the quickest possible time.”

He said the well did not belong to Petrotrin but had been part of an acreage which had been handed back to the Ministry of Energy.

He also confirmed that the EMA is also investigating a black substance resembling an oil sheen which had washed up on a beach at Fullerton village, Cedros yesterday.

He said the oil-like sheen was not oil and samples had been sent to the Institute of Marine Affairs for identification.

Attempts to contact the Ministry of Energy representatives were unsuccessful.