Mystery oil slick in Persian Gulf

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32869, 18 March 1972, Page 23

Mystery oil slick in Persian Gulf

(By 1

RALPH JOSEPH)

TEHERAN.

Whatever happened to the biggest ever oil slick spewed recently into the Persian Gulf, when an oil well of the Iran Marine International Oil Company (Iminoco) blew out in December last? According to one source here, it mysteriously disappeared, after having been seen heading towards the mouth of the Persian Gulf. The source was unable to say whether it had in fact gone out into the Gulf of Oman, beyond which lies the Indian Ocean.

The blow-out in Iminoco well RK 10, occurred on December 2 last in the vicinity of Lavan Island, where the company is developing a relatively small off-shore concession. Lavan Island is about two-thirds of the way down the gulf from Abadan.

Iminoco engineers involved in the disaster are proud about having succeeded in capping the blow-out within 22 days (on December 24 last), as operations of this sort are said to last “for months” sometimes. However, some sources here denied earlier reports that “Red” Adair, an internationally known figure in fighting oil rig fires, did the capping. He was present only at “the beginning” of the operation, they said. While the blow-out lasted, the source disclosed, about 100,000 barrels of oil were spewed into the gulf. At 44 gallons to the barrel, this would make the spill 4.4 million gallons—or more than four times the size of any other oil spill previously reported. Slick chopped up The source confirmed a Washington “Star” story saying that “6000 to 10,000 barrels of oil a day” were involved, but explained that the larger proportion of the total estimated spill of 100,000 barrels came up earlier on during the disaster. Gases forcing their way up through the blow-out later caused a decrease in the quantity of oil coming up, until towards the end it was almost “only gases” emerging. Probably only an expert could explain how this is possible physically. Though Iminoco reportedly threw rubber fences around the spill to keep it in check, storms and high waves seem to have made nonsense of this effort The slick broke out into the gulf and was chopped up into smaller pieces. Iminoco reportedly got in touch with foreign experts to disperse the slick—or rather the series of broken slicks—but when a “work boat” with pumps and other equipment got to the scene all they found was “one small slick” still floating about Oil dispersants “BP 1100 X” and “Corexit” (both trade names) were sprinkled ovei the spill, and later an aerial survey was made for the remaining oil. A helicopter flew all along the southern Iranian coast and then back up the ; Oman and Persian Gulf ; emirates shore on the other side of the water, but re- : portedly “not a single drop” of the remaining parts of the

original spill was anywhere to be seen as of January 20 or 21.

(Reports from other sources on January 29 said the original slick was “still floating about” in the gulf, but this was officially denied by Iminoco). The Iminoco men in the helicopter were looking for the dark patches of black oil from the disaster in their well. This was said to be quite different from the lighter, brownish coloured oil that the source in Teheran said was being spilled into the gulf “all the time” by oil tankers. The tankers apparently leave a long trail of this pollution, which can usually be traced up to the ship itself.

Ecologists concerned

Ecologists and wildlife conservationists in Teheran, meanwhile, were pretty upset about the whole affair, especially as they were kept very much in the dark about it. They said that waterfowl and other kinds of wildlife abound in the Persian Gulf, and some are very rare species, such as the three different kinds of sea turtles found there. Some 47 different species of fish have been identified in the vicinity of Lavan Island.

Among the marine birds recently identified in the area are the black-headed gull, the great black-headed gull, the common cormorant, the reef heron and the great white heron. Species of fish found there include the catshark, the sea catfish, the needlefish, the sea-bass, the snapper, the mojarra, the portfish, the goatfish, the porgy, the parrotfish, the rockfish, the blenny and the silverside—all identified in a recent survey. Yellow-bellied seasnakes and short seasnakes have also been seen there.

Among the sea turtles found in the Persian Gulf are the leatherback, the hawksbill and the green sea turtle. The leatherback sea turtle, which weighs up to 17601 b and may be over six and a half feet in length, is the largest reptile in the world

and is extremely rare. Sea turtles are a survival from the Mesozoic age, 175 million years back. One ecologist in Teheran said an oil slick of the size reported could result in the "medium alteration” or even the “total alteration” of the area affected, and described the Persian Gulf as an ecological “disaster area” as long as the slick was there. Ecologists in other parts of the globe have also expressed concern about the spill, and the Smithsonian Institution in the United States has been making urgent inquiries about it.

Fish food killed

explained that a large oil slick kills the plankton, which is an important source of -food for fish anywhere. By .completely covering the surface, it prevents oxygenation of the water below also, thus causing the fish even at depths to die or move out to healthier regions. A large migration of fish from the Persian Gulf area would affect the economy of the local people, many of whom earn their livelihood from fishing. The migration of wildlife and marine animals to other regions also tends to change the ecology of the neighbouring area—which is probably why ecologists in other parts of the world were so concerned about the Persian Gulf slick. Apparently no rescue operations were launched to save the wildlife in the region, though one source said a team of conservationists would be “leaving shortly” for Lavan Island. The reason for the lack of action was that, the conservationists had not been informed of just how big the oil spill was.