The Wall Street Journal is now confirming our earlier reports about satellite imagery revealing another leak at another oil well in the Gulf.
HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--A small amount of oil has been leaking into the U.S. Gulf of Mexico from Taylor Energy-owned oil wells in the gulf since 2004, a spokeswoman for the U.S. secretary of the interior said in an email Tuesday.
The wells have been leaking since they were destroyed by a mudslide during Hurricane Ivan. The wells were leaking less than a third of a barrel of oil a day.
"There are hundreds of small oil leaks every year in the Gulf of Mexico, and each is reported immediately to the National Response Center to ensure appropriate actions are taken to mitigate all potential environmental impacts," Kendra Barkoff, a spokeswoman for the secretary of the interior, said in a statement.
Media reports had surfaced that Diamond Offhore Drilling Inc. (DO) was dealing with a leak at a Taylor-owned oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. Diamond's rig, Ocean Saratoga, was performing plugging and abandonment work on the well, a Diamond Offshore spokesman said Tuesday."
According to a FOX News story, however, the leakage is "slight" and comes from three containment domes set in place to control leaks since 2004.
And Coast Guard representative Zachary Zubricki actually told Business Insider: "this is not a story." Leave that to us to decide.
