PLAQUEMINES PARISH, La. — More than 1 million gallons of oil spilled from a pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico just a few miles offshore since last week, the Coast Guard estimates.
Government sources confirmed to WWL Louisiana that oil is no longer leaking from the Main Pass Oil Gathering Pipeline (MPOG). The pipeline is no longer leaking.
Several agencies have been working to clean up thousands of gallons of oil off the coast of Plaquemines Parish due to a pipeline that was leaking for at least a couple of days before it was stopped.
The Coast Guard estimated the leak at 27,000 barrels or 1.1 million gallons of oil.
MPOG is located on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico. The leak was first spotted Thursday morning 19 miles east of the mouth of Main Pass.
On Friday, WWL learned the slick had moved southwest toward South Pass, and the Coast Guard set up a command center in Belle Chasse.
Plaquemines Parish officials said they're working with state and federal partners but it doesn't appear there has been any impact to land at this point.
Skimmers were sent out to collect the oil from the surface.
MPOG carries roughly 80,000 barrels of oil per day from offshore wells to the coast.
To put it into context, in 1989, the Exxon Valdez tanker spilled 11 million gallons, and the BP well blowout in 2010 spilled 200 million gallons.
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