Oilfield Spill Leaks 840,000 Gallons of Oil And Brine Mixture

(Photo by Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – A pipeline leak in northwest North Dakota has spilled an estimated 20,000 barrels, or 840,000 gallons, of crude oil and produced water onto agricultural land, the Department of Environmental Quality said.

The spill about 4 miles northwest of Stanley in Mountrail County involved emulsion, a mixture of crude oil and produced water that emerges from a well before they are separated, the department said. Produced water, also known as saltwater or brine, is a waste byproduct of oil production.

The contamination flowed for 250 yards before it was contained by the construction of a clay berm, according to the incident report.

It is unknown how long the leak went undetected by Hess Corp., which owns the pipeline. Bill Suess, manager of the Department of Environmental Quality’s spill investigation program, said  the company first became aware of a potential problem Sept. 2 when they “started getting an indication their numbers weren’t right” – 10 days before the spill was discovered and reported.

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