PANTHER OPERATING COMPANY, LLC

Incident Narrative

ON 11/15/2023 AT APPROXIMATELY 19:40 THE CONTROL ROOM CONTROLLER NOTICED FLUCTUATIONS IN THE PRESSURE AND FLOW ON THE MAIN PASS OIL GATHERING (MPOG) PIPELINE SYSTEM. THE CONTROLLER CALLED THE FIELD TECHNICIAN TO DISCUSS THE FLUCTUATIONS. IT WAS AGREED THAT THE ISSUES WERE DUE TO INSTRUMENTATION ERROR AND TO CONTINUE NORMAL OPERATIONS. ON 11/16/2023 AT APPROXIMATELY 06:00 THE CONTROLLER SHUT DOWN THE PIPELINE BY CALLING ALL THE 7 PRODUCERS TO STOP PUMPING INTO THE PIPELINE. BY 06:40 ALL FLOW STOPPED, AND PIPELINE WAS SHUTDOWN. AN OVERFLIGHT WAS SENT TO INVESTIGATE THE PIPELINE. AN OIL SHEEN WITH RECOVERABLE OIL WAS OBSERVED IN THE MAIN PASS BLOCK 143 AREA. AT 09:51 A CALL WAS PLACED TO THE NRC, NRC # 1384438, AND AT 10:01 A CALL WAS PLACED TO PHMSA ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION DIVISION (AID). THE QI ACTIVATED THIRD COAST'S IMT (AND CONTRACT IMT). OSRO RESOURCES WERE ACTIVATED BUT WERE UNABLE TO DEPART DOCK LOCATIONS DUE TO HAZARDOUS SEA STATE (4'-6'). THIRD COAST, FOREFRONT, AND USCG PERSONNEL ESTABLISHED AN INCIDENT COMMAND POST IN BELLE CHASSE, LA AT APPROXIMATELY 1300 HOURS. BOTH THIRD COAST AND USCG SECTOR NEW ORLEANS CONDUCTED HELICOPTER FLIGHTS FOR OBSERVATION; THE THIRD COAST AIRCRAFT FLEW THE LENGTH OF THE MPOG PIPELINE TO TRY TO DISCERN A LEAK SOURCE. ON 11/17/2023 THIRD COAST CONDUCTED AN EARLY MORNING OVERFLIGHT. PERSONNEL NOTED SHEEN IMPACT AS FAR WEST AS MP 265, WITH RECOVERABLE OIL PRESENT PRIMARILY ALONG A FRESH/SALTWATER CONVERGENCE BOUNDARY. VESSELS WERE DISPATCHED TO RECOVERY AREAS NO SHORELINE IMPACT HAD BEEN DISCERNED. ADDITIONAL ASSETS WERE ACTIVATED BRING THE TOTAL TO THREE 95' FAST RESPONSE VESSELS AND TWO 46' FAST RESPONSE VESSELS. THE IMT ASSESSED SENSITIVE AREAS IN THE PROXIMITY OF THE SPILL, TO INCLUDE STRATEGIES IN THE SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AREA CONTINGENCY PLAN AND BSEE OPEN-WATER ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX MAPS. ON 11/18/2023, MORNING OVERFLIGHT NOTICED A REDUCTION IN THE SIZE OF SHEEN AS WELL AS A REDUCTION IN RECOVERABLE OIL QUANTITY. 5-BARRELS OF TOTAL LIQUIDS WERE RECOVERED BETWEEN THE VESSELS. 19 OILED PELICANS OBSERVED AT SOUTHWEST PASS AND SOUTH PASS BY NOAA, USFW, & FOREFRONT. A CALL WAS PLACED AT 09:28 TO THE NRC TO PROVIDE AN 48HR UPDATE, NRC # 1384617. ON 11/19/2023, MORNING OVERFLIGHT DOCUMENTED A SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED SURFACE AREA. IN ADDITION, NO RECOVERABLE OIL (I.E., OIL THICKNESS ABOVE RAINBOW SHEEN) WAS DISCERNED. ON 11/20/2023, MORNING OVERFLIGHT DOCUMENTED THAT ONLY A VERY MINOR SILVER SHEEN REMAINED ON THE WATER. ONE VESSEL TO REMAIN ON-SCENE, AND THE OTHER 4 ASSETS DEMOBILIZED. BETWEEN 11/19/2023 AND 11/30/2023 DIVE AND ROV VESSELS SURVEYED THE MAIN MPOG PIPELINE, ALL PRODUCER'S LATERALS, AND SEABED TO LOCATE THE POTENTIAL RELEASE LOCATION. NO EVIDENCE OF A LEAK SOURCE HAS BEEN DISCOVERED. PLAN IS TO PRESSURE UP A SECTION OF THE PIPELINE WITH NITROGEN TO TRY AND LOCATE THE FAILURE IF THERE IS ONE. PLAN MUST BE APPROVED BY ALL STAKEHOLDER AGENCIES. AT THE TIME OF THE REPORT BEING DUE, THE PIPELINE INTEGRITY PLAN HAS NOT BEEN EXECUTED AND NO FAILURE LOCATION IDENTIFIED. SINCE THIS IS THE CASE SEVERAL QUESTIONS WITHIN THE 7000-1 HAD TO BE ANSWERED AS OTHER: UNKNOWN. THESE QUESTIONS WILL HAVE TO BE CHANGED IN A SUPPLEMENTAL ONCE THE PLAN IS EXECUTED AND A FAILURE LOCATION IS IDENTIFIED. IF THE PIPELINE SHOWS NO SIGN OF FAILURE AND WE CAN POSITIVELY STATE THE RELEASE WAS NOT ON MPOG, WE WILL RESCIND THIS 7000-1 AND NRC NOTIFICATIONS.