Hurricane Ida Causes Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico
An investigation is underway to determine the source of the leak.
The US Coast Guard announced that skimmers and a containment boom have been deployed in the Gulf of Mexico near the coast of Louisiana to deal with an oil spill after the passage of Hurricane Ida.
The statement said that the Louisiana Coast Guard has been informed of the spill in this area and is monitoring the situation, noting that the company "Talos Energy" is scheduled to send a diving team to try to determine the source of the oil leak.
The company said in a statement, "The investigation has not yet determined the source of the leak, but extensive scrutiny at the site indicates that Talos infrastructure is not the source," stressing that there is "no impact" on the coasts or on wildlife at this stage.
Talos stated that in 2017, it halted production in the area affected by the oil spill, by blocking the sources and removing its pipeline network.
The affected area is located off the port of Fortune, in Louisiana (south), about 160 kilometers from New Orleans, which specializes in the storage and delivery of oil.
Hurricane Ida, with winds of up to 240 kilometers per hour, hit the coast of Louisiana a week ago, causing "catastrophic" damage, according to local authorities.
The hurricane turned into a storm, eventually striking New York and its surrounding areas.
The Gulf of Mexico is one of the main oil production areas in the US. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon platform exploded in the Gulf, which led to an oil spill that was considered the most dangerous in history.