Oil byproduct leak in North Dakota reaches river tributary

A byproduct of oil production leaked from a tank and reached a tributary of the Little Missouri River in North Dakota, according to the North Dakota Health Department. Over 28,000 gallons of brine and oil spilled from the tank in Billings County on December 8th and reached the river tributary before cold weather resulted in it freezing.

According to the North Dakota Department of Health, 20 barrels of oil and 650 barrels of brine spilled at a production well site, affecting the river tributary that is 4.5 miles from the production site. The spill has only affected land that is private or owned by the US Forest Service and has not affected any businesses or residences. 

The US Forest Service is working with the Department of Health to contain the spill, while BTA Oil Producers LLC - the operator of the production site - will be working with both agencies to investigate the extent of the spill. Once it is understood how bad the spill is, a remediation plan will be devised.

The spill was reported immediately by the oil production company allowing for quick action to be taken. Kris Roberts, environmental geologist with the North Dakota Health Department, told the Associated Press that regulators were on site to take water quality samples the day after the spill in order to ascertain the effect it has had upon the Little Missouri River.

The operations manager at BTA Oil Producers, Ben Grimes, said that the leak was caused when a gasket gave way on a site tank that was holding the mixture of oil and brine. The well that was holding the byproduct of oil production was an older one, according to Mr Roberts.

Brine from oil production can be much more salty than seawater and therefore can be more damaging when released into the environment. However it is expected that the water that leaked from the site had low levels of salt due to the fact that it was able to freeze so quickly.