Crews are about half way done removing a colossal drilling rig that toppled over on the North Slope.
“Right now, there's ice roads that have been constructed in place that heavy equipment can work from, and so as of this afternoon, they've removed about 47% of the rig,” said Kimberley Maher, on-scene coordinator for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, speaking on Thursday.
Formally called Doyon 26 and nicknamed “The Beast,” the rig was as tall as a 15-story building. It was said to be the largest land-based rig in North America. It fell over a month ago while it was in transit, sparking a fire that was quickly extinguished. No one was seriously injured. The rig was damaged beyond repair.
Maher said the salvage operation is on track to be finished by spring breakup.
A major concern is that diesel and hydraulic fluid spilled from the rig. Maher said slightly more than half of the estimated 4,600 gallon spill has been recovered so far, using the “flush and suck” method.
“We use warm — not hot — water in order to flood the area, to lift the contamination out of the tundra … and then use a vacuum to recover that water,” she said.
The mixture is hauled to Deadhorse and placed in settling tanks so that regulators can determine how much contamination has been removed.
The site, six miles northwest of the Nuiqsut community, is about 500 feet from streams that flow into the Colville River.
“Fortunately, this happened while everything is very frozen,” Maher said. “We will be continuing to monitor the site, delineate the contamination, and put tactics in place to minimize any potential of contamination hitting any waterways.”
ConocoPhillips, which expected to use Doyon 26 in its exploration of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, said the accident won’t disrupt its work program.
